Magic City
by Devilis Kyuu
Summary: AU Fic. Sasori was a successful puppet businessman. On the way to a business meeting one day, his car broke down. Deciding not to make his fellow businessmen wait for him, he got out of his car and decided to walk towards his destination when
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuuden or any characters in it.

Summary: AU Fic. Sasori was a successful businessman who sells puppets. On the way to a business meeting one day, Sasori's car broke down. Deciding not to make his fellow businessmen wait for him, he got off his car and decided to walk towards his destination until…

A/n: Thank you so much to **Kyra213** for BETA-ing the fic! Thanks!

_Italics are thoughts. _

Prologue 

A redhead looked out of a car window as his driver drove him in a Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman limousine to his destination. Blinking, he watched the busy streets and the people walking around on the sidewalk. Rows of shops could be seen along the road.

Iwagakure – a country that never sleeps, or so he heard from his personal assistant, a certain Uchiha who always wore a blank look on his face. The said Uchiha had taken two weeks off to go on some skiing vacation with his own brother – a lad called Sasuke -- leaving him to travel alone in a foreign country. The redhead recalled the explanation by the Uchiha about this new country he was in. It would be the perfect new market for his business, or at least from what was stated in the report the raven had given him.

It had been many long years since the redhead got into the family business. Now 30, he had inherited P.U.P.P.E.T Corporation when he was only fifteen. Ever since then, the company had been raking in profits year after year. Everyone called him Akasuna no Sasori, which meant Sasori of the red sand because of his flaming red hair. His name – Sasori, meant scorpion and it was perfect for him. It reflected his personality, cold and mysterious.

"Erm, Sasori-sama…we have a problem here." The voice of Sasori's personal driver reached his ears, snapping him out of his trance.

Frowning, the redhead questioned, "What is it now, Kabuto?" He looked through the small opening that separated the driver from the passenger.

Tilting his glasses, the silver haired man stated, "I think the car just broke down." His dark brown eyes did not leave the steam that had begun to fog the windscreen of the car. Then, with a loud 'pop', the front of the car popped open. "Oh great…" mumbled the silver haired man as he got out of the car to examine it.

Sasori rolled his eyes as he took a glance at his watch. It stated '6:30p.m', another thirty minutes before the meeting started. "How far is it from here to FanTocHe?" He asked, sticking his head out of the car window.

Kabuto winced as he pointed to a direction, Sasori's eyes following. There, the building of FanTocHe stood tall. It was a colorful and unique construction compared to the rest of the tall buildings in Iwa.

Beep! Car honking could be heard, coming from behind the limousine. Sasori turned to see an angry driver in a Toyota Corolla. The redhead frowned and got out of the car. "I'll leave this matter to you, Kabuto," said the redhead as he turned to cross the road, a suitcase in his hand. "Remember to pick me up on time. You know I hate to wait."

Kabuto shrugged as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number, "Hello, this is…"

* * *

Sasori walked all alone at the sidewalks where people busied by and street performers drew in crowds. Laughter and claps could be heard from where street performers performed.

The redhead scowled as some people pushed pass him without apologizing. He clutched his suitcase tighter as his knuckles turned white. His pupils narrowed dangerously as he observed those around him. Girls looked at him and some of them even squealed as he passed by.

He managed to hear some words like, "OMG, he's so cute." or "That redhead is so hot!" or "Is he single? I really want to know him…" and the like.

Sasori sighed. He had never liked the crowds. If given a choice, the redhead would rather stay at home, working with his puppets and designing new ones. You could say that he was more of a 'loner' type.

He quickened his steps, hoping to get to his destination faster, but then a loud explosion stopped him in his tracks. Loud claps could be heard coming from a group of spectators, probably watching one of the street performers display their talents.

The crowds were huge, probably larger than those of the last three street performers Sasori had seen while he was walking along the sidewalk. Then, as if by magic…Sasori found himself drawn towards where the loud explosion came from. He couldn't see the performer clearly from his current height so he pushed past the crowd, hoping to gain a better view.

Finally, he got to the front row. A white butterfly flew past him and swooped towards the sky. Then, BANG! A loud explosion could be heard as fireworks decorated the sky. The redhead looked up at the brilliant colors, so mesmerized by them that he temporarily forgot about the meeting. He looked back to the performer that stood a few feet away from him.

It was a blond with the most beautiful blue eyes…or was it 'eye' because half of the blond's face was covered with his long fringe? His hair was tied up into a ponytail and his face was plastered with a grin. He wore long sleeved robes in shades of blue.

"Now for the final performance, un," said the blonde with a grin. "I would like a volunteer to come up and put his or her hand into this bag and take out something."

"Me!" A sharp voice could be heard coming from behind.

"No, me!" Said another.

"Pick me! Pick me!"

"Mr. Magician, pick me…" Said a girl meekly, as she raised her hand.

Sasori narrowed his eyes as he eyed the bag in the blonde's hand suspiciously. '_What's in it?_' he wondered. He didn't notice that the blond magician's eyes were on him.

"Hey, un."

Sasori was snapped out of his trance by the street performer's voice. The blonde was still grinning his usual grin. The redhead noticed that all eyes were on him as the blonde walked towards him. He was at least a foot taller than the redhead.

"Why don't you pick something out from this bag, little boy, un?" The blonde stated with a smile as he showed Sasori the bag.

'_Little boy?! What the…_'Sasori was annoyed but he didn't show it. Instead, he blinked. "What's in it?" He couldn't see anything inside the dark colored sack.

"Well, that's for you to decide, un," the blonde beamed, "I can't tell you just yet cuz the magic won't work that way."

Sasori looked at him with a bored look. Then, a smirk came across his face. '_Magic? Like that'd even fool me? There's no such thing as magic!_' Sasori's mind came up with all the theories.

"Okay then, _Mr. Magician_." Sasori said with a sarcastic tone as he placed his hand into the bag. It was cold and wet. The redhead's eyes widened as he looked at the blonde.

"Now, close your eyes and imagine the thing that you want it to be, un." Instructed the blonde as he grabbed onto Sasori's wrist and pulled out the redhead's fisted hand.

Sasori looked at his own hand and blinked. '_Why did I agree to do this?_' He wondered, but he let his eyes close anyway, opening them at the first thought to cross his mind.

He unfisted his palm and was surprised to see tiny clay sculpted figures in his hand. The figures resembled him and his parents. They looked creepily similar to the photo he had taken with both of them, himself in the center and both his parents hugging him.

He felt his heart clench all of a sudden, and a mixture of emotions overwhelmed him. Suddenly the clay sculptures exploded right in his palm, but there was no pain, no burning feelings when the fire scorched him.

When Sasori looked up again, the blond was gone. The crowds began to subside and he was all alone…

To Be Continued…

A/n: Okay…tell me what you think. O.o Would you like me to update or I'll just leave this story hanging if it sucks too much. XD Hope that the characters aren't too OOC...


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuuden or any characters in it.

Summary: AU Fic. Sasori was a successful businessman who sells puppets. On the way to a business meeting one day, Sasori's car broke down. Deciding not to make his fellow businessmen wait for him, he got off his car and decided to walk towards his destination until…

A/n: Thank you so much to **Kyra213** for BETA-ing this chapter. Thank you so much!

_Italics are thoughts._

Chapter 1

'_What the hell was I thinking?!_' thought Sasori as he hurriedly entered the building. He was LATE! Akasuna no Sasori was LATE for a meeting! That was a BIGGGGGGG thing! He had never been late before, not once in his lifetime.

The lobby of the FanTocHe building was pretty nice. Grayish-blue tiles…chandeliers…plants…decorations and all that, but the redhead was not in the mood to stop by and admire the place.

"Oh shit!" Not noticing that he had said that out loud, the redhead launched forward as the door of the elevator was about to close. His eyes widened as he found his suitcase caught in between the elevator door. '_Just in time.' _Thought the redhead as he pushed the doors apart and glided into the elevator.

Sasori ignored the stares the people were giving him. Instead, his eyes were glued on his watch. '_15 minutes late…that's just great_', he thought.

* * *

The redhead burst into the conference room and all eyes were on him. He frowned and made a quick apology. Then, he proceeded to his seat. Certain snake-like eyes followed Sasori as he made his way across the room.

"So, you are the Akasuna no Sasori?" asked the one with reptilian eyes. He was extremely pale with almost inhuman features. "My name is Orochimaru, the head of the packaging department." He held out his hand, just as a voice interrupted.

"Ahem," the leader of the company, Pein, faked a cought, "Now that everyone's here, let us discuss our strategy to promote our latest product." He turned towards Sasori, "Mr. Akasuna, now would you please tell us about the items that you wished to market in this country."

Sasori stood up, took out his pendrive and walked towards the front where the laptop was connected with the LCD projector. After all the preparations, the redhead was ready to give a talk about the puppets produced by his company back home.

"As you can see, the puppets from Suna and Iwa are very different," the redhead started, "We used strings to control the puppets back in Suna. It will be new to the people here as glove puppets are more common…"

The meeting lasted about two hours, including the talk about money by the treasurer of the FanTocHe Company, Kakuzu. Kakuzu seemed to blabber on and on about the cheapest way to promote their latest product. The leader of the company shot Kakuzu a glare, claiming that the method was too cheap, and would affect the image and standard of their company.

Dinner started at 9p.m and lasted about an hour because a certain snake-like man seemed to be following the redhead everywhere, constantly occupying Sasori with things that he was not interested to know. Sasori responded politely with a certain "Oh, I see…" at random intervals throughout Orochimaru's incessant talk.

After dinner, Sasori stood outside the FanTocHe building, waiting for his chauffeur to pick him up. The redhead glared into the distance, tapping his foot impatiently. Everyone knew that he hated to wait as much as he hated to make other people wait for him. He bit on his lower lip, deciding whether or not to give his silver-haired chauffeur, Kabuto, a call.

Just then, the awaited vehicle arrived and Sasori took no time in climbing into the back seat, not waiting for Kabuto to open the door for him. "How many times have I told you? I don't like to wait," said the redhead coldly.

"I'm sorry, Sasori-sama," apologized the silver-head. "Well, I was having some problems in finding a mechanic here…all the stores seem to be closed at a time like this…"

"I don't need excuses, Kabuto." Stated the redhead. "I hired you because I had no doubt in your capability. Now, go."

Kabuto pursed his lips. '_Damn it!_' Then he drove off.

The redhead stared out of the car window. His mind drifted off to the evening where he had seen the clay sculpture in his palm. They had looked so real to him, but then again, was his mind playing tricks on him? Or was the blond magician playing a trick on him? But then…the magician didn't know him at all. Why would the magician pull a trick on him? It didn't make any sense.

"OH SHIT!" A yell from Kabuto startled Sasori and pulled him out of his trance. The vehicle came to a halt all of a sudden as the tires screeched. Sasori fell forward and hit the divider that separated the passenger's seat from the driver's. So much for his unbuckled seat belt.

The redhead frowned as he rubbed his face with his hands. "What is it this time, Kabuto?"

"Whew! That was close," exclaimed the silver-head as he gave a sigh of relief. Just then, a knock at the side of the driver seat's door could be heard. Kabuto groaned as he wound down the car window. "What?"

Kabuto looked up to see a blond with a grin plastered on his face. One long front fringe covered the left side of the man's visage. "For your information, you almost ran into me, un," said the blond calmly.

"You said 'almost', which means I didn't hit you," argued the silver-head, annoyed. '_Oh great, some dude who wants to get some cash out of this, _' thought Kabuto.

"You've given me a mental scar, you know?" The blond stated. "I say you give me a hundred bucks and I'll forget it, un." He touched the front of the car, "I don't think a hundred bucks would mean anything…"

"Look, you aren't going to get anything from this," hissed Kabuto.

Sasori wound down his window and looked out. Surprise overcame him, when he saw the blond. He was no doubt the magician that the redhead had seen earlier. It was just that the man was wearing a different outfit right now. He was clad in jeans and a blue T-shirt, but he still wore his ponytail the way he had when Sasori first saw him at the sidewalk.

The blond shifted his attention towards the passenger. "Hey, kid, un," a smile crossed his face. "Remember me?"

"Sasori-sama, I'll deal with this…" Kabuto said.

"It's okay, Kabuto," Sasori cut him off and turned his attention towards the blond. "I'm curious, how did you do that…that…"

As if reading Sasori's mind, the blond responded. "Magic, un," nodded the magician, the grin not fading from his face as he walked towards Sasori.

Sasori frowned. '_As if I would believe that_,' he thought. "Anyway, what do you want, brat?"

As if taken by surprise, the grin from the blond's face disappeared, "Brat?! Hey, a kid like you should have manners, un." Then his smile appeared again as if nothing had ever happened. "So, kid...care to give me a ride, un?"

Sasori eyed him suspiciously.

"Hey! I was just joking about that hundred bucks, un," he flung his hands in mid-air, and sighed, "Well, the thing is my pals had just dropped me in the middle of nowhere." He said. '_Some pals…_' Thought the blond bitterly. "And ya know…"

"Why don't you call a cab?" Sasori asked flatly.

"As if there's a cab here?!" the blond almost yelled as he indicated his surroundings which consisted of only trees and dim streetlights. There were clearly no vehicles around, as they were out of town. (Sasori had preferred to stay in a hotel out of town because it was more peaceful and quiet.) He sighed, "Look, I'm sorry for faking the accident, un."

Sasori's eyes widened, amused. "So you were faking?"

"Grr! I did it to attract attention un, damn it!" the blond slapped a hand across his forehead. "No one would pick up a stranger in the middle of nowhere…especially not at a time like this, un."

Sasori looked around. The blond had a point. "Where do you live?"

The blond's face brightened, "You are willing to…?"

"Are you sure about this, Sasori-sama?" Kabuto asked.

"Get in," Sasori told the blond, ignoring his personal driver.

Kabuto sighed, "Oh well…so blondie, where do you live?"

The blond seemed to ignore Kabuto's question as he curiously scanned the interior of the car. "Whoa, nice, un!" exclaimed the blond as he climbed into the back seat and sat beside Sasori. His visible blue eye scanned the small room. Then, his attention turned towards the redhead. "So, erm, kid, where are your parents, un?"

"They are dead." Sasori stated flatly.

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that." The blond pursed his lips. "Anyway, sorry that I haven't introduce myself. The name's Deidara. What's yours, un?"

"Sasori."

Just then Kabuto's voice interrupted. "Now would you please tell me where you live so that I can send you home, Mr. Deidara."

"It was at that corner…" The blond explained to the silver-haired man. Kabuto restarted the car after knowing the direction that he should be heading.

* * *

"So, erm, kid… how do you find Iwa, un?" Deidara asked.

Sasori raised a brow, "A potential market." He had kept his answer short and direct.

"Market, un? You sell things, kid?" The blond seemed surprised. "Whoa, at this age? Your parents must have left you with…"

"For your information, I'm already thirty years old." Sasori rolled his eyes. "Don't call me a kid. Brat." He muttered the last word under his breath.

There was a moment of silence. Then a sharp gasp cut through the air as Deidara's eyes widened, "YOU. ARE. KIDDING. ME." He had dropped the 'un' the shock was so great.

Sasori rolled his eyes. He had expected a reaction like this. It was nothing new to him. Whenever he went to a new place, the people there would stop him from entering the conference room and his private assistant, Itachi, would help explain things.

"THAT IS SO WICKED!" exclaimed the blond. Sasori had not expected this reaction. The blond continued, "Seriously, you look much younger than you should, un. Whoa, I wonder, will I look that attractive when I hit your age?" Deidara nodded.

Sasori raised a brow and was about to say something, but then Kabuto's voice interrupted, "We are here now." The car came to a halt. A house stood right in front. It was dark and there were no lights on.

Deidara looked out of the window. "Oh, thanks, un!" he immediately got out of the car. "Good night, Sasori-san, un." The blond said with a smile on his face, as he closed the car door behind him and rushed towards his home, unlocking the gates. Then, as if he'd forgotten something, Deidara turned and ran towards the limousine. He knocked on the door at Sasori's side.

Sasori wound down the window, "What is it?"

Before the redhead could react, Deidara had crushed Sasori's lips with his. The redhead's eyes widened with shock as a gasp escaped his lips, giving the blond a chance to slide his tongue into his mouth. Sasori soon melted into the kiss.

Deidara was the one who broke the kiss. Sasori was gasping for air but Deidara seemed fine. He grinned, "A present to say thank you, un." He then placed a finger against the redhead's lips. "You taste sweet."

Sasori was about to say something but the blond had already turned and disappeared into the house. He moved so fast that Sasori couldn't seem to catch his movement. The redhead blinked as he turned his attention towards his personal driver. "Go."

TBC…

A/n: T.T Argh! Does anyone sound way too OOC? XD Oh well…I've finally been able to finish this chapter. O.o R&R please…


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuuden or any characters in it

Summary: AU Fic. Sasori was a successful businessman who sells puppets. On the way to a business meeting one day, Sasori's car broke down. Deciding not to make his fellow businessmen wait for him, he got out of his car and decided to walk towards his destination until…

A/n: Finally! I've finished writing chapter 2. Eek...sorry, if I took me too long. Writer's block. o.O

_Italics are thoughts._

**Chapter 2**

A stream of melody, which was the sound of the redhead's alarm clock reached Sasori's ears and his eyes fluttered open. A hand reached out to turn off the alarm clock. He lay on his bed, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. He lay on his bed for a while before deciding it was time for him to get up and prepare himself.

Sasori's cell-phone rang the moment he stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in only a towel, water dripped from his hair. He grabbed the cell-phone, which was placed next to the bed and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Sasori-sama, **Coughs** I'm sorry **Coughs** I **Coughs** couldn't pick you up today **Coughs**" The familiar voice of Sasori's chauffeur reached his ears. The redhead raised his brows as the man continued, "You see **Coughs** I'm sick."

'_Of all times to fall sick, he chooses now to fall ill…_' Sasori thought bitterly. "I'll get a cab then, Kabuto." Said the redhead, "Will you be well then, by tomorrow? Or do you want to take another day off?"

"**Coughs **I guess I'll be fine by tomorrow. **Coughs**" Kabuto told his boss. "Well, **Coughs** I guess that's all, **Coughs** Sasori-sama. **Coughs** Have a nice day then. **Coughs** Bye." Then, the silver hair man hung up.

'_You better be better by tomorrow…_ ' Sasori thought. Then, he too hung up with a sigh, dreading with the thoughts of being alone in a foreign country.

It was not like he was afraid or something…just a little unused to it, because he always had a private assistant around or at least a chauffeur with him whenever he went for a business trip in a foreign country.

After getting himself all ready for work, Sasori picked up the phone and dialed for the hotel receptionist and requested for a cab. Just as he was about to go out, his cell-phone rang again.

'_What is it, this time?_' Thought the redhead, annoyed. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the n75 cell-phone. He froze when the name of the caller flashed across the screen of his cell-phone.

'_SAKURA HARUNO…_' Sasori's eyebrow twitched at the name as the image of an annoying lady with pink hair flashed across the redhead's mind.

Sakura Haruno was Sasori's supposedly fiancée. Well that was before she ditched him for a lad named Sasuke, who happened to be Sasori's private assistant - Itachi's little brother. Said-little-brother-of-Itachi seemed to have broken up with the pink haired lady a month later. _Serves her right!_

Actually the redhead had not intended to date that pink haired lady who was the daughter of some wealthy family in Suna. It was all Sasori's grandma – Chiyo's idea. Sasori had obediently complied with his grandmother's request and got engaged with Sakura after going out for about two months.

Sasori definitely did not hate the girl for ditching him because for one, the redhead himself did not take their relationship seriously, and two, he was kinda glad that Sakura was the one who brought up the subject of breaking up with him. Well, if he were the one who brought up the subject of breaking up with the pink haired lady, his grandmother would be nagging him to no end. And that was the last thing the redhead had ever wanted.

Then, the reason why the redhead disliked (well, he did not hate her, just dislike her) the pink-haired lady was… after her break-up with Sasuke, Sakura had been annoying the hell out of Sasori by frequently calling him and saying how sorry she was in hopes that they could get back together.

Sasori had told her 'no' for so many times, that he had lost count. Sasori's own grandmother was no help either. That old woman was always on Sakura's side and told the redhead that he should give that pink hair lady a chance. This time, Sasori had stated firmly that he do not wish to have anything to do with Sakura Haruno.

The pink haired lady didn't seem to get the hint and finally it left Sasori no choice but to put on a show that would make Sakura give up. And about the show that Sasori was forced to pull, he didn't want to think about it, but it had something to do with him dating a certain raven and convincing the pink hair lady that he was gay - gay with his private assistant. That was probably absurd, but at least the pink hair lady believed him and left him alone.

After the tenth ring, Sasori decided to answer the phone. "What is it, Haruno-san?" His voice came out monotone.

"Sasori-kun…"

'_Drop the 'kun', goddamn it!_' Thought Sasori as his brows furrowed. "Yea? What do you want this time, Haruno-san? I thought I had told you clear enough…that…"

"I know that you are lying, Sasori. You were not gay." Sakura cut him off. "I had verified it from Itachi-san…"

With that, Sasori's eyes widened. '_What the…did Itachi betrayed me?_' The redhead thought. '_But…Itachi doesn't seem like someone who would do something like that._' It was unless Sakura somehow managed to find out that Itachi was actually dating Sasuke and not the redhead. Then that would make sense, because Sakura loved skiing, and it was not rare for her to bump into the Uchiha brothers during their skiing trip.

"…" Sasori went speechless for a moment, but then he found his voice again, "Look, Haruno-san, I'm a very busy man. If you would like to talk about all this," His inner self thought, '_Which I hope that you don't.' _ The redhead continued, "At least, wait for me to get back from work…"

"I'm going to Iwa." Sakura stated flatly.

'_Oh great._' Sasori thought sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. "Do whatever you want, woman." The redhead looked at his watch. '_Damn, this woman is getting me late_.' Sasori then said a quick goodbye and hung up.

Bolting out of his room, he managed to catch the lift before the door close. '_Damn…why am I always late these few days?_' Thought the redhead bitterly.

The cab was already waiting for him at the entrance and the redhead wasted no time in getting into the vehicle and of course he wasted no time in telling the driver the destination. Then, he slumped back in the passenger seat, exhausted from the running.

* * *

The last thing the redhead wanted was to be caught up in a traffic jam, but now here he was, trapped in a yellow vehicle without any clue of how to get himself out of this situation. Just then, a tap could be heard on the right side of the passenger's seat window. Sasori then spotted a blond grinning at him through the window. It was the blond that he met last night – Deidara.

Sasori blinked, twice. '_Now how the heck did the blond find him here?_' His eyes scanned the blond, noticing that the blond was wearing a helmet and sitting on a rather nice looking motorbike. Still, the left side of Deidara's face was still covered by his long fringe.

Sasori wind down the window. Just then, the blond greeted him, "Hey morning, Sasori-san. It's a surprise to meet you here un."

'_I'm even more surprise, brat._' Thought the redhead.

"Looks like you are trapped in this jam here un." Deidara stated.

Sasori looked unamused, "And you?"

Deidara grinned, "Me? Well, I'll be out of this jam in no time with this baby un." He declared as he patted the front of his motorbike.

"Then why aren't you?" The redhead pointed out.

"Well, for one, the light is still red un."

Sasori raised a brow, "Oh…"

"So, you want a ride un?" Deidara asked the redhead, which surprised the redhead for he did not expect the offer.

"Excuse me?" Sasori's eyes widened.

"I said, do you want a ride to your destination un?" The blond repeated his question. "You look like you are in a hurry un."

That was true. Sasori had desperately needed to get out of this traffic jam because he knew that he would be LATE if he did not. He eyed the blond suspiciously, why did he offer him a ride even though they barely know each other.

As if he could read Sasori's mind, Deidara said, "Well, since you helped me last night so un…"

Sasori eyed the motorbike. Sure it was a nice thing, no doubt…but was it safe? Sasori had never been on a bike before (not that it was even necessary for him. He had his personal driver, a car and all that, so why do he need to get himself a dangerous vehicle like a motorbike?)

"Better hurry un." Deidara's voice snapped Sasori out of his trance. "I'll have to go when the light turns green un." He glanced at the traffic light that was still red.

Sasori's mind made a quick weighing about the pros and cons of getting the ride on Deidara's bike. The pros, he would make it in time for work, he did not have to get stuck in a traffic jam… the cons, the ride might be dangerous and he barely knew the blond. Somehow, Sasori decided to go on with the ride because he really hated to make others wait for him.

"Fine." Turning, Sasori paid the cab driver the amount of money then he proceeded to get out of the cab. The blond helped him onto the bike and handed him a helmet that the blond said to belong to his sister. Deidara nodded after Sasori had given him the name of the destination he was heading.

The traffic light turned green at that time as the bike took off. Sasori clutched his briefcase tightly with a hand, the other hand seemed to grasp onto Deidara's clothes. The redhead kept his eyes shut during the whole ride.

'_What did I get myself into?_' Sasori thought as he prayed to whatever deity there was, that he would survive the ride. He could feel the cold wind beating against his face and it felt kind of nice because the sun was blaring hot at the moment.

* * *

"We are here un."

The bike came to a halt and Sasori's eyes opened automatically when he found himself lunging forward due to inertia, and he crashed against the back of the blond. Sasori felt his cheeks turned red as he inhaled the other's scent.

The redhead's eyes widened in alarm as he immediately steadied himself as his grasped on Deidara's clothes loosened. The part of the fabric where Sasori had grasped hold on seemed to be in a darker color because it was soaked with the redhead's sweat.

"Thanks, I guess…" Sasori mumbled as he hopped down the bike and handed the blond the helmet.

"You're welcome un." Azure eyes stared into maroon ones as a hand reached out to take the helmet away but instead, the hand felt skin instead.

Sasori froze at the contact, but his eyes not leaving Deidara's. The contact lasted about three seconds before Sasori dropped the helmet to the ground, snapping both of them out of their trance.

"I'm sorry." Sasori apologized before picking up the helmet by its strap and returning it to the blond. He looked away, or more exactly, at his watch. "Well, I guess I'll have to go now, I'm going to be late if I don't."

"Okay un." Deidara nodded before he turned his attention towards his bike.

"By the way…care to have lunch with me?" Sasori said all of a sudden. "My way of saying thank you and all that…"

"That would be nice un." The blond beamed. "So, I pick you up at noon un?"

"I guess…" Sasori nodded slowly, avoiding eye contact with the blond.

"Well, see you then, un." With that, the blond took off with his bike.

TBC…

A/n: O.o I seriously dunno what to say… Weird chapter? XD Anyway, please R&R. Thanks. Oh yea…I didn't really re-read the whole thing cuz I'm too lazy to. Gomen if I made too many mistakes…


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuuden or any characters in it.

Summary: AU Fic. Sasori was a successful businessman who sells puppets. On the way to a business meeting one day, Sasori's car broke down. Deciding not to make his fellow businessmen wait for him, he got out of his car and decided to walk towards his destination until…

A/n: Special thanks to my friend Eartha for giving me ideas to write this chapter. Thanks Eartha!

_Italics are thoughts or flashbacks._

**Chapter 3**

"I think we should use the wood imported from Konoha instead of the ones in Iwa." Said a voice, snapping Sasori out of his trance.

The redhead blinked, "I'm sorry, but could you repeat that please?"

"I said, we should change the material for the project." Said a blue haired woman. She touched the surface of the material. "The wood, to be exact." The woman, known as Konan continued, "The wood from Konoha is known for it's durability, unlike the wood here in Iwa."

"But it'll cost more to import the materials!" Exclaimed Kakuzu, the treasurer of FanTocHe. He made quick calculations with his calculator and then showed the figure to everyone at the meeting.

Pein – the leader of the FanTocHe rolled his eyes. "The capital merely increased by 2 cents each, I don't see a huge difference."

"Now you see, Pein-san, we are business people, we need to think of a way to rake in more profit and not…"

The argument continued as Sasori's mind drifted to elsewhere. He was really troubled by the thought of his used-to-be fiancée's visit. What could she possibly want from him? Hasn't he told her that it was all over for both of them? Women…he really doesn't get them.

"Sasori-san, what are you doing?" A voice owned by a certain snake-like man snapped Sasori out of his thoughts.

Sasori shook his head as he soon realized that he had drawn a rather messy drawing on the piece of paper in front of him. That piece of paper was a summary on the whole project that was handed out to everyone here at the meeting. Sasori felt like he wanted to slam his forehead against the table. It was so humiliating getting caught in such a childish act by your business partner.

"Err…I'm sorry." Sasori mumbled as he closed his eyes, "It's just that I always do that when I … sort of…zone out a little."

"You don't look really well, Sasori-san." Orochimaru stated. "Something's bothering you?"

"Nothing much really." Sasori lied, as he toyed with the pen in his hand. He pushed aside the problems in his mind and focused on the planned lunch with the blond. He still couldn't get why he had asked the blond out to lunch? I mean…hasn't he already help the blond the night before? It was fair that the blond had helped him back this morning.

The whole lunch thingy was unnecessary…but somehow the redhead got a feeling that he had to invite the blond out for lunch. OMG, does that mean he was interested in men now? Sasori shook the thought out. Hell no! He assured himself that he was not gay…that it had just been a…mere attraction. Yea, a mere attraction to the beautiful…wait, had he just thought that the blond was beautiful? He certainly did not think that the blond was beautiful! Okay…so maybe the blond was in some way attractive to Sasori…but that doesn't prove that he was gay!

'_Okay…I'm just being kind by inviting that brat out for lunch._' Sasori's mind made a conclusion.

'_But since when did Akasuna no Sasori become so kind?_' Inner Sasori retorted.

Gaah! Sasori felt his mind explode trying to think of reasons for his behavior. '_This is purely a friendly gesture of asking someone out to lunch…_' Thought Sasori, happy that he was finally able to come up with a reason, but then inner Sasori had to interrupt.

'_Oh? Since when did Akasuna no Sasori makes friends?_' Inner Sasori beamed evilly, finally winning the battle. Sasori brushed off inner Sasori's comments and stick to the 'this-is-purely-a-friendly-gesture' reason.

The voice of Pein and Kakuzu seemed to be amplified as the argument continued. Konan merely glared at both men and rolled her eyes. '_They should ought to act more mature, instead of argue like kids.'_ Thought the bluenette.

Finally the whole boring meeting ended in about an hour or so and it was lunchtime now. The redhead left his briefcase in the office and proceeded to exit the building. He was not the least surprise when he saw the blond waiting for him on his bike. The blond was grinning his usual Cheshire cat grin as he waved at the redhead. The redhead walked towards the blond.

"Good afternoon, kiddo un!"

Sasori frowned, "Hey, brat. How many times have I told you…"

Deidara chuckled, "Just kidding, Sasori-san un. Just kidding un." He shook his head, "Geez, you should be so serious all the time un."

Sasori rolled his eyes, "Brat." His eyes then shifted towards the vehicle in front of him and he gulped. The memory of the ride that morning was still vivid in his mind.

"Come on, un." Deidara handed Sasori the helmet. "I'll take you to some place nice for lunch un."

Sasori heaved in a deep breath, '_Here goes nothing…_' He thought as he put on the helmet and got on the bike. His fists clenched tightly around the fabric that was Deidara's shirt.

The blond chuckled, "You really are nervous, aren't you un?" He then continued, "Just relax and enjoy the ride un. Err…and oh, you shouldn't grasp onto my shirt like that un. You won't have enough support un."

Sasori stared at the Deidara's back. "Then…where do I hold?"

"My waist, maybe un?"

Sasori felt his cheeks burned as the grasps around Deidara's shirt loosened, and a pair of hands wrapped around the blonde's waist. "Like this?" The redhead felt his heartbeat quickened and he could have sworn that his face was as red as his hair now.

"Yea un." Without looking back, the blond started the bike.

Sasori's eyes widened this time during the ride as he glanced sideways at the buildings and people on the sidewalk. '_Hey…maybe the ride wasn't too bad after all…_' He let himself relax and enjoyed the view. The cool breeze hitting on his skin was so comfy that he let his eyes closed and forgetting all the problems that he was facing.

* * *

"We are here, un!" Exclaimed an excited voice, which obviously belongs to the blond named Deidara.

'_What a sweet scent…_' Sasori thought as he inhaled deeply, as his eyes slowly fluttered half-open. OMG? Had he fallen asleep? His eyes snapped open all of a sudden. All the sleepiness disappeared at once as he realized that he had fallen asleep with his face buried against Deidara's back. "Shit!" He jerked himself backwards and away from the blond.

"Fallen asleep, Sasori-san un?" Deidara turned towards him and smiled. "You are just like a kid you know un? You even look like one un."

Sasori seemed to be slightly insulted by the comment. "Stop calling me a kid, brat." He then proceeded in hopping off the bike. His eyes widened as he noticed his surrounding. They were at the beach! There weren't much people at the beach at the time because it was weekday. Okay…how the hell did he get here without noticing? Oh yeah…he was asleep just now. "Brat…where the heck…"

Deidara cut him off, "Didn't I told you, I would bring you to somewhere nice for lunch un?" He grinned as he showed the redhead the hot dog stall next to the sea. "There! Kisame-san sells the nicest hot dog and burgers in the whole Iwa." The blond then proceeded to wave at the said Kisame-san – a tall guy that had weird skin colour…it seemed that his skin was almost blue.

Sasori raised a brow. "You brought us all the way to the beach just to eat some freaking hot dog?"

"No…Kisame-san sells burgers too un."

The redhead gritted his teeth as he looked at his watch. A freaking forty-five-minutes ride! He realized. Oh man, he had only a one-hour lunch break, plus Orochimaru had told the redhead to get back earlier than the supposed time because he wanted to show the redhead around the factory area.

Sasori slapped a hand across his forehead. "I'm going to be late, in case you didn't notice, brat. Lunch break is only one hour." He glared the blond who looked surprise. "Plus, my business partner is waiting for me back there! Argh!"

"Gee…I didn't know that un." Deidara's visible blue eye appeared apologetic. "I thought…"

Sasori cut him off, "Forget it," He seemed upset, "I'll just call them and tell them that I would be a little late." With that, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number. "Hello…this is…"

Deidara on the other hand had proceeded in ordering two extra-large sets of lunches, which came with fries and soft drinks. After the phone call, Sasori turned to realize that the blond had stood next to the stall, which was quite a distant away from where the redhead was standing. The blond waved at him and Sasori strolled towards Deidara.

"Hey, this is Kisame-san un." Deidara introduced the stall owner to Sasori, who merely force a smile as he greeted the man.

"So err…Sasori-san, is it?" Kisame started to break the ice. "Do you like the beach?" He asked the redhead, without looking up, his eyes still glued to the hot dogs that he was flipping in the pan.

"No." Sasori's reply was short as he looked away (or more precisely at the sandy ground). '_The sand here was also different from the sand back in Suna._' Thought the redhead.

"What's on your mind un?" Deidara asked the redhead.

"None of your business, brat." Sasori replied, he was clearly still upset that the blond had made him late. '_Oh! It was your own fault for opening that big mouth of yours and asking him out for lunch!_' Inner Sasori stated. '_Besides, you cannot blame him for not knowing your schedule. No point making blondie here feel bad, no?_'

"I'm sorry un." The redhead could hear the hurt in Deidara's voice. "I didn't know that your lunch break was only an hour un. If I do know, I wouldn't have brought you here un." Sasori looked at the blond who wasn't smiling right now.

"Look, I'm S-…"

"Two extra large set lunches are ready now." Kisame interrupted the two as he handed the lunch set to Deidara.

"Thanks un, Kisame-san un." Deidara's expression immediately lightened up as he took the lunch set. He then proceeded in taking out his wallet but Sasori beat him to it. "Hey un…"

"I'm paying, remember?" Sasori reminded the blond.

"Oh yea un." Deidara grinned. "Does that mean you've forgiven me un?"

Sasori narrowed his eyes, as he pulled back the cash. "Okay, you are paying, brat." Deidara rolled his eyes, as he was about to pull out his wallet. A smirk crossed the redhead's face as he handed the cash to Kisame. "Just kidding, brat."

"Now look who's the brat here, un." Deidara rolled his eyes as he handed Sasori his share of the lunch. Sasori took it and muttered a quick 'thank you'. They then found a spot under a shady tree to sit and have their lunch.

* * *

"So, do you like it un?" Deidara questioned the redhead as he swallowed a bite.

Sasori glanced at the blond, "Nothing special." He then took another bite. '_Yummy_' Inner Sasori exclaimed. He didn't want to admit that he like the food well because he didn't feel like it and secondly, he just feel like he have to hate the things that caused him to be late. So the innocent hot dog bun took all the blame.

"Oh…" Deidara's smile seemed to falter a bit as he too, took another bite from the hot dog bun. The ketchup from the bun seemed to leak out and was left at the side of the blonde's face. Deidara proceeded in licking the sauce away.

Sasori watched the blond. '_Oh god…he looks really sexy, no?_' Inner Sasori asked. Sasori almost bit his own tongue. Oh no, he didn't think that the blond look sexy. No, he did not.

"What's wrong, Sasori-san un?" Deidara's gaze fell onto the redhead now as he studied Sasori's expression.

"Uh, nothing." Sasori shifted his gaze away as he felt his cheeks burned.

"Pervert un."

"What the?!" Sasori turned and glared at the blond who looked at him with a smirk. The blond inched closer to the redhead. "What do you think you are doing?!" Sasori felt as if his heart was going to stop beating as the blond brushed his lips softly against Sasori's.

"You like this, don't you un?" The blond whispered seductively. "Ah, I remembered… Sasori-san's lips tasted sweet un." The remark made Sasori blushed as he remembered the incident last night. The blonde's lips against his, the blonde's tongue exploring his mouth…oh it felt like heaven.

When Deidara was about to pull away from Sasori, Sasori's hand shot out and pulled him towards him as their lips crashed feverishly. '_Oh screw it! What if I am gay?!_' Sasori thought as his eyes snap shut as he enjoyed the kiss.

This time, Sasori was the one who slid his tongue into the blonde's mouth, as he tasted him. He pushed the blond against the tree trunk as he continued to explore the blonde's mouth with his tongue. He could taste the ketchup inside Deidara's mouth.

This time it was Deidara who broke the kiss, both of them were panting for air. They stared at each other silently. Deidara was the one who broke the silence. "You are a great kisser, Sasori-san un."

Sasori averted his gaze and faked a cough, "Ahem…aren't you going to finish your lunch?"

"Oh shit…" Deidara soon realized that he had scattered his lunch on the ground when they were kissing.

Sasori rolled his eyes as he handed the blond his share, which was tucked safely somewhere. "Here, you can have my share."

Deidara's beamed, "Aww! Thanks danna un!" as he grabbed the share of food.

"Danna?" Sasori raised a brow.

"Hehe, just feel like it un." Deidara spoke. "You don't like it un?"

"No…" Sasori shrugged. "Just felt weird…" He took a sip of coke, "Well at least it's better than 'kiddo'."

"Un." Deidara began to chew on the food in his mouth.

"Anyway brat, your only job is as a street performer?" Sasori questioned, "No part-time job or whatsoever?"

"No un." The blond stared at the redhead, "Why un?"

"Nothing much…just curious."

"Un…" Deidara looked away, "Anyway…I forgot to ask you when we first met un. So, where are you from un? You don't look like you are from here un." He stated, pointing at Sasori's flaming red hair. "That hair color just doesn't seem natural in Iwa un."

"Suna."

The conversation ended as both of them busied finishing their lunch. "I guess we should take our leave now un." Deidara broke the silence. He smiled, "I thought you hate to make other people wait for you un?" Sasori was taken by surprise. He had never told the blond that before, so how did Deidara know? It was as if the blond could read his minds. The blond chuckled as he read the shock from the redhead's face. "I guess I'm right then un." He shrugged, "From the way you acted before, I guess un…"

"I see…" Sasori stood up. "Shall we?"

* * *

The couple was now at the entrance of the FanTocHe building, Sasori handed Deidara the helmet, as he looked him in the eye. Inner Sasori screamed to say anything! Anything that wouldn't just let the blond leave and not come back, but Sasori's pride held him down.

"Guess you won't believe me un…but I really like you, Sasori-san un." The blond spoke all of a sudden.

"But, we just met…yesterday." Sasori wanted to smack himself for saying that. '_Oh, smooth…Sasori_' Inner Sasori pointed out sarcastically.

"I know un…" Deidara bit his bottom lip, "How do I say this un…" He tilted his head a little, "Fate un? No…" He shook his head, "Look, I can't explain it un. But somehow I got attracted to you un…I think you are attracted to me too, Sasori-san. Don't deny it un."

"I…"

"That kiss proves it un."

"I don't know. I just, acted that way. It was strange…" Sasori shook his head, "And…we are both guys…"

"Does it matter un?"

"Not really…" Sasori shifted uncomfortably, "Just that, I feel weird…when I'm around you…" Sasori paused to think of the little magic show yesterday. For some reason…he was drawn towards it…towards the blond.

"Ah… I've found the word un. Magic un." Deidara stated.

"Yeah right…" Sasori snorted.

"You don't believe in it un?"

"No, if I believe in magic, then I would be admitting that Santa Claus really do exist." The redhead stated.

A hand shot out to caress the redhead's cheek. "You know, I guess the reason you still look like a kid, is that you couldn't leave the past behind un…"

The redhead's eyes widened. "What does that suppose to mean?" Sasori felt his heart clenched all of a sudden as the memories of his past flashed across all of the sudden.

Flashbacks…

'_It seems that it was psychological… that the child couldn't seem to grow'_

'_Something seems to be bothering him…avoiding the growth…'_

End of flashbacks…

Sasori remembered when he wasn't growing normally as the other children in his school; his grandmother had taken him to various doctors and psychiatrists, hoping that they could help him. It took the psychiatrists long enough to observe the situation and write down the report to his grandmother, but the blond standing right in front of him now, seemed to know everything of him. It was really creepy.

"What do you know about me?!" Finally finding his voice, Sasori snapped. He slapped Deidara's hand away and shifted his gaze to the floor. Tears brimmed at the edge of his eyes as he found himself sobbing.

"Sasori un…"

"Shut up!" The redhead felt himself shivered, as tears seemed to pour out uncontrollably.

Flashbacks…

"_Magic? If it does exist…then I wouldn't be here alone now, would I?" _

"_There has never been magic or miracles, just cold hard reality." _

"_You should have told me that they wouldn't come back, grandma…" Said a 12-years-old Sasori. "Then I wouldn't have to wait for a miracle to happen every Christmas."_

End of Flashbacks…

A pair of hands wrapped themselves around Sasori and pulled him into an embrace. Sasori did not try to pull away. He just buried his face against Deidara's shoulder as tears continued to trickle down.

"You know? Through each tear you shed, you get stronger un?"

Sasori didn't even bother to reply. Some of the passerby looked at the couple oddly but some of them didn't even bother to look. Sasori was obviously oblivious to his surrounding as he continued burying his face against the blonde's shoulder. It felt…so warm. Gradually…the sobs subsided.

"Come on, I think you should get going un…" Deidara spoke suddenly.

Slowly, Sasori shifted away from Deidara as the arms around him were pulled back. It had been years since he had cried. The only time the redhead remembered crying was when the news of his parents' death reached him. He had changed himself completely after that and had never cried anymore…well, until today.

"Thanks…I guess." The redhead refused to look at the blond in the eye when he spoke.

"Don't mention it, un." Deidara nodded with a grin as he ruffled Sasori's hair. Sasori glared at the blond who was obviously taller than him. "You could give me a call, ya know un?" Deidara handed the redhead his name card.

"Street magician…" Sasori read. "Is that even a proper job?"

"Duh, I still didn't have any problems in paying my bills and am not dying of hunger un." Deidara pointed out.

"Right…" Sasori rolled his eyes and he looked really cute with that expression that made Deidara want to ruffle his flaming red hair again, but this time, the redhead stopped him. "Oh no, you don't, brat!"

"Fine un. Anyway, see you around un." Deidara started his bike, as he waved at the redhead, "Bye, kiddo un…"

"Hey!" Sasori yelled at the blond, annoyed.

"Right, danna un. Bye un!" Then, Deidara took off.

* * *

Sasori entered the lobby of the building and proceeded in getting to the elevator when a voice stopped him in his tracks. A voice to scarily familiar stopped him in his tracks. "Sasori-kun?" Sasori turned to see a pink haired lady standing behind him.

"Haruno-san…" He frowned, "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I told you I would be coming here today, Sasori-kun?"

TBC

A/n: … O.o Err…Please R&R to tell me what you think. Ideas are welcomed too!


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuuden or any characters in it.

Summary: AU Fic. Sasori was a successful businessman who sells puppets. On the way to a business meeting one day, Sasori's car broke down. Deciding not to make his fellow businessmen wait for him, he got out of his car and decided to walk towards his destination until…

A/n: Thanks to **Kyra213** for beta-ing the fic!

_Italics are thoughts or flashbacks._

**Chapter 4**

Sasori stood, frozen at the sight of his ex-fiancée standing in front of him. Her long pink hair was tied into a bun and she was dressed very formally. Somehow, the way the woman dressed was very unlike the Sakura that Sasori used to know.

The pink-haired woman chuckled, "What's wrong, Sasori-kun? Unhappy to see me?"

At that, the redhead frowned, "Look, Haruno-san…"

"Call me Sakura." Cut the pink-haired lady.

"Okay, Sakura-san. What in the world are you doing here? As you see, I'm a very-"

"-Busy man…blah-blah," nodded the pink-haired woman. "Yeah, yeah. I know. You always say that whenever I visit you at your workplace." She recalled the time when Sasori and her used to date.

The pink-haired lady was about Sasori's height, but, thanks to her high-heels, looked slightly taller. Sakura was six years younger than Sasori but unlike the redhead, she actually looked her age. One could easily tell she was in her early twenties.

"In that case, why don't you leave now-" before Sasori could finish his sentence, a voice cut in. It was Pein.

"-I'm sorry to have to interrupt, Miss Haruno…" the orange haired man took a glance at Sasori. "Oh, there you are Mr. Akasuna. Where have you been? The meeting ended half-an-hour ago."

"I'm sorry," the redhead apologized.

Pein cleared his throat, "Anyway, Mr. Akasuna, I want you to meet our largest shareholder, Miss Haruno." He told the redhead who stared at the said 'Miss Haruno' with shock.

Said Miss Haruno smiled sweetly, "Well, since my dad left me with the family business, I decided I should do some investment." Inner Sakura kicked in, '_What do you think, Sasori-kun? Did I impress you, huh? I'm no longer that immature girl you used to know, right, Sasori-kun?_'

"I see…" forcing a smile, Sasori held out a hand as Sakura shook it. "Nice to meet you, Haruno-san. I hope we would have a nice cooperation in the future."

"Oh, I'm sure we would have a pleasant cooperation, Akasuna-san." Sakura couldn't help but beam. '_Just you wait, Sasori-kun! I'm going to impress you!_' thought Inner Sakura.

'_Women…they just don't know how to quit do they?_' The redhead thought as he concluded that Haruno Sakura was still the same spoilt brat who only knew how to use her father's money to get whatever she wanted.

* * *

The day went on as usual for Sasori. Well, his day could have been better if a certain Haruno-san was not annoying the hell out of him, constantly asking questions on this and that. Sasori could not blame the pink-haired lady though. She was simple, not equipped to be in the business world. What can you expect from a spoilt-child?!

Sasori answered all her questions even though she was rubbing off his patience. '_Oh man…could my day get any worse than this?_' thought the redhead, as he sighed inwardly.

After simply annoying the redhead for the whole day, Haruno Sakura suggested that they have dinner together and the redhead concluded that his day had just gotten worse. He couldn't say 'no' to her. Well, because she was the largest shareholder and he definitely did not want to get on her bad side. Besides, he was the only friend the pink-haired lady knew in this foreign country, so it was kind of rude to turn her down. The redhead could only pray that the 'dinner' did not give Sakura any wrong ideas.

Sasori was bombarded with lots of questions as usual during dinnertime. The questions ranged from business to personal. He could only rub his temples to refrain from getting a terrible headache while conversing with the pink-haired lady.

After dinner, Sasori and Sakura were walking on the sidewalks of the city. It was that time again, 6:30 pm, the time where the street performers came out to execute their various talents and draw in crowds. Obviously, it was the pink-haired lady's idea to have a walk around the city and the redhead grudgingly complied. Well, she _was_ the largest shareholder of the company and it was definitely not wise to turn her down.

Sakura's personal bodyguard followed them in case anything happened. Said bodyguard was a tall man with silver hair and a mask that covered half his face. He was reading this porn book even though he was on duty. It made Sasori wonder if maybe this bodyguard of Sakura's was more of a threat to the her than a protection, though Sasori did not say that out loud or her about it. It was after all, none of the redhead's business.

"There's nothing like a good walk after dinner, ne, Sasori-kun?" said the pink-haired lady all of a sudden, trying to break the ice.

Sasori shrugged, as he scanned their surroundings. The street was simply crowded and Sasori did not like the crowd at all. Sasori personally found it annoying, but the pink-haired lady seemed to be enjoying herself. He sighed inwardly.

"Are you alright, Sasori-kun? You look so…"

"I'm fine," snapped the redhead, not knowing why he had raised his voice all of a sudden.

"Now, now, Akasuna-san, it's not nice to speak to…" Sakura's bodyguard began to interrupt but Sakura cut him off with a glare. The silver haired man sighed as he shook his head. '_Well, it's not my duty to meddle with her business. Might as well continue reading Icha-Icha paradise..._' the man known as Hatake Kakashi thought as he continued reading his book.

"Can we go back to the company now?" questioned the redhead.

Sakura forced a smile, "Sure, whatever you say, Sasori-kun."

The trio then continued their way back to FanTocHe because they had not brought a car thanks to Sakura's idea of 'having a walk' around. The crowd was getting on Sasori's nerves as they bumped into him and all that. Though Sakura was perfectly safe because her bodyguard shielded her.

Then it happened again…that magical feeling. He looked up all of a sudden when a loud blast could be heard a distance from him. '_Ah…it must be that brat again,_' thought the redhead as a smile appeared on his face at the thought of the blond magician. He stopped in his tracks, getting a weird stare from the pink-haired girl and her personal bodyguard.

"Be right back," exclaimed the redhead as he ran towards the direction where the magician was performing. He was oblivious to the pink-haired lady's shout, his mind only focusing on a certain blond.

* * *

Pushing past the crowd, Sasori managed to get to the front row. The redhead couldn't help but stare as the blond magician performed. He was just so stunningly beautiful. The way he moved and the way he smiled just captured Sasori's attention.

The blond noticed the redhead's presence and sent Sasori a smile as he continued his performance. Deidara had both his hands clasped together and when he opened them, there was a clay bird standing on his palms. Then, the bird seemed to turn to life as it fluttered its wings. He then tossed the bird upward and POOF! The clay-bird became as tall as the blond.

The spectators were all mesmerized as the gigantic clay-bird took flight and flew into the clouds above them. There was a loud explosion and fireworks could be spotted from above. They seemed to paint the clouds in different shades of colors for a moment…then the tints disappeared, leaving the clouds in their original hue – white.

Sasori simply could not comprehend what was happening at the moment. No, he simply could not believe that it was magic. '_It has to be some trick…_' thought the redheaded man as his mind came up with theories but they did not make any sense at all.

"There you are, Sasori-kun!" A familiar voice called out and Sasori soon felt a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his trance.

The redhead frowned. "Sakura-san, what are you doing here?"

"Well, following you, of course," replied the pink-haired lady casually, "You gave me a fright, suddenly disappearing into the crowd like that." She continued, "It doesn't seem like you…"

The redhead could not deny that. Even he himself could not understand his sudden act. He turned and was about to reply when a voice stopped him. The redhead turned and was greeted by the blond magician who was now standing right in front of him, grinning his usual Cheshire cat grin.

"Hey, want to volunteer, un, kiddo?" Deidara asked the redhead, earning himself a glare from the redhead. Yet, the blond did not wait for the redhead to reply, dragging Sasori away.

Loud claps could be heard coming from the crowd. Sasori seemed slightly uneasy being the center of attention. Even Sakura was watching him, seemingly cheering for him or something. Sasori could only roll his eyes and wait for what was coming next.

"Now, everybody. Do you want to see a disappearance act, un?" Deidara asked the excited crowd. He waited before the excited shrill and claps died down before continuing, "Well, now watch closely then, un." Saying that, he pulled out something beneath his sleeve.

Sasori could not help but stare with a curious expression at the thing the blond magician was dragging out from underneath the sleeve. It was a white cloth, about a size of a comforter. '_How the heck does that thing fit in the sleeve?_' wondered the redhead.

Without wasting another second, the blond magician threw the cloth on top of both of them. The crowd stared at the cloth intently as the lumps of the two figure hidden beneath the cloth, seemed to disappear…until the cloth was left flat on the floor, before disappearing in a poof…

* * *

"What the hell?!" Sasori pushed pass the cover as he was about to yell at the blond, but he froze instantly as he found out that they were not at the sidewalk anymore. Instead, they seemed to be in an alley. A motorbike, which belonged to the blond magician, was parked there.

"Hey now, Sasori-san, un…"

"What the hell happened?" Curiosity was written clearly on the redhead's expression. '_Okay, calm down, Sasori…_' Sasori took in a deep breath, "Please explain to me, how…"

"Magic, un." Deidara merely replied without looking. His gaze was fixed upon his prized motorbike.

Sasori rolled his eyes, "as if I would believe that."

The blond magician shot him a dirty glare. "Well, then EXPLAIN what happened with your so called theory, un."

"I dunno…you probably knocked me out and dragged me here or something." The redhead stated. '_Okay…that was a plain stupid explanation!_' But it was too late for he had already said it out loud. '_Now he's going to think that you are some kind of retard or something._'

"Does that explanation of yours even make sense, un?" The blond rolled his eyes.

"Err…no…" the Sasori's face flushed as he looked away. A thought suddenly occurred to him and he turned towards the blond. A smirk formed at the corners of the redhead's lips. "Then tell me, brat… why didn't use this little 'magic' of yours to…" he made a hand gesture, "well, I dunno, teleport back to your house yesterday?" He recalled back the fake accident that happened the night before and that the blond had been stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Deidara seemed to be taken aback by that as he found himself unable to reply to the redhead. He merely stared at Sasori as he furrowed his brows, trying hard to think of an explanation.

"I thought teleportation is a simple trick for you?" Sasori asked with a note of sarcasm visible in his tone. "Or does it have to do with the distance or something? Huh? Brat?"

"Exactly un!" The blond found himself grinning. The redhead raised a brow as the blond continued, "I can't use too much of my magic power, now can I, un?" Deidara spoke as-a-matter-of-factly, "now you see, Sasori-san, my power was deflated yesterday, after all the usage during yesterday's performance, un." He nodded.

"You're saying that your 'magic power' somehow was not enough to teleport you?" Sasori questioned and was answered with a nod by the blond. The redhead felt his eyebrows twitch. Was this magician playing a trick on him or what? "What kind of theory is that? That doesn't even make any sense!"

Deidara stuck out his tongue, "well, that's more logical than your 'knock-out and drag' theory, un!" He turned back towards his bike and took out a helmet. "Want a ride?" he asked the redhead.

"Sure," Sasori replied as he took the helmet from the blond.

They took off moments later, with Sasori's arms wrapped around Deidara's waist during the ride. The redhead seemed to have gotten used to it by now. He watched as they passed rows of shops and crowds on the sidewalk.

Deidara noticed that the redhead was not so tense during the whole ride right now. Well, at least, the redhead seemed better than the first time. He let his thoughts drift. '_Would you believe me, if I tell you that there's something called '__**inevitability**__'?_ ' He smiled inwardly, '_I guess you probably won't…_'

FLASHBACKS to the incident, the night before…

_Deidara's friend, a certain silver-haired man by the name of Hidan seemed to be acting strangely around him all of a sudden. Well, said Hidan was being…way too nice to the blond, constantly offering him rides in his car, and picking him up for work and sending him home. Sometimes the silver-haired man even bought him dinner._

_Deidara of course would not decline such an offer (He was so glad that he could save the money for petrol for his bike XD) …and so, this weird behavior of Hidan's went on for about two weeks and Deidara did not even bother to find out why, until last night…_

_When the silver-haired man was sending the blond home that night…he revealed it all to the blond, well not directly anyway. _

"_Hey blondie, would you fucking go out with me?"_

_Deidara who was singing to the song blaring from the hi-5 of Hidan's car seemed to halt all his movements. He turned towards the silver-haired man and merely stared at him. So this was what it was all about… no wonder Hidan was being so nice to him all of a sudden._

_Realizing that the blond would not reply, the silver-haired man continued, "Look blondie, I want you to fucking go out with me or you fucking get out of this car right now." He then smiled that seemingly maniacal smile which made the blond uneasy._

"_Let me out, un…"_

_Ouch…a straightforward reject. The car came to a halt all of a sudden as the blond took no time in getting out of the car. A gust of wind blew as the car and its driver took off, leaving Deidara standing alone there. _

_Not more than one minute of standing, the blond saw a car approaching him. 'Oh well, why not try to hitch a ride…' He thought._

END OF FLASHBACKS…

"Hey, we're here now, un," the bike came to a halt in front of the FanTocHe building.

"Hmm…" the redhead seemed to be awakened from his nap. He shook his head slightly as he rubbed his eyes. He got off his bike and proceeded in taking off the helmet.

Deidara couldn't help but chuckle, "You really love to sleep, don't you?" He continued, "is it comfy back there with the wind blowing or do you find my back comfy, un?" Sasori glared at the remark. Deidara couldn't help but give the redhead a peck softly on his cheek. "You are cute when you glare, you know?"

The redhead blushed at that, as he looked away, "Anyway, thanks for the ride."

"Don't mention it, un," The blond magician continued, "I guess I'll still be seeing you around, un?" He restarted his bike and was about to leave, but the redhead stopped him.

"Wait…" Sasori fished in his pocket and pulled out a name card. He handed it to the blond. "I guess it's only fair if you…well…" He stuttered. "Have my phone number … in case…"

Deidara beamed, "Thanks, un." He looked at the card. "Wow, you own a company, un. That's cool." Then, the blond stuffed the card into his pocket. "Well, I guess I'll be taking my leave then. Bye, un…"

"Bye…" Saying this, the redhead disappeared through the door of the FanTocHe building.

* * *

Meanwhile in the FanTocHe building, a certain pink-haired lady was worried sick at her ex-fiancé's sudden disappearance. She almost called the police to report a kidnapping case but her bodyguard assured her that Sasori was capable of taking care of himself.

Still, Sakura was not convinced. She promised to file a police report if the redhead did not show up in half-an-hour's time. Fortunately, the redhead entered the building just in time for Sakura to cancel off the phone call.

"Oh, Sasori-kun! Where have you been?!" Yelled the pink-haired girl. "I thought you were being kidnapped or something!"

"I'm fine, Sakura-san," Sasori assured her. He took a look at his watch, "well, let's go to the conference room now, shall we? The meeting is going to start in about five minutes."

TBC…

A/n: Finally! It's done! XD Please R&R to tell me what you think! O.o I guess I'll update sooner when school starts (cuz I won't have time to make AMVs then…) **sigh**, now I have one final AMV request to complete. (Better get start now!)


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuuden or any characters in it.

A/n: Thanks to **Kyra213** for beta-ing the fic! **hugs** You are the best!

_Italics are thoughts or flashbacks._

**Chapter 5 **

Sasori could only conclude that WAY TOO MANY things happened on the same day. First, his chauffeur had decided to get sick, causing the redhead to have to hitch a ride from a motorbike, which belonged to a certain blond magician. Then, Sasori actually ZONED OUT during a meeting! That was so unlike him. The usual Sasori was a serious man with a no-nonsense attitude when it comes to his job. Next, the redhead found out that he actually liked guys…well, ONE guy anyway! Though, it was enough to make Sasori question his sexual preference.

The lunch with said object-of-affection further proved that Sasori was indeed gay. Well, gay for aforesaid blond anyway. Then, Sasori's ex-fiancée decided to show up at that very same day and was declared as the largest shareholder in FanTocHe.

Sasori sighed inwardly as he got out of the taxi and headed towards his hotel room. _It was indeed a busy day, _thought the redhead as he opened the door of his room. He was glad that he could actually relax for now and forget all of his troubles. Little did he know that his already-piled-up-troubles were going to get worse.

The door opened slowly, revealing the lit room, the furniture, and an old woman sitting on the couch, across the room... Well, everything was normal. NOW, WAIT A MINUTE! An old woman?!

"Grandma Chiyo…" Sasori couldn't help but frown. Well, he had every reason to do so. There must be something serious going on if the redhead's grandmother were to visit him during a business trip. And the 'serious thing' would always involve an arranged marriage involving the redhead and some woman that Chiyo had chosen for him. Sasori found his headache began to grow, and he rubbed his temples gingerly. "What brings you here, Grandma Chiyo?" He hid the annoyance in his voice.

"Well, well. I have a sudden desire to see my grandson's face," Chiyo's face suddenly became gloomy. "The doctor said that I had only one month's time to live."

At that, Sasori's eyes widened as he froze immediately. Shock was written all over his face. What?! One month? No, it couldn't be true! Chiyo was the only relative that Sasori had left. He couldn't imagine seeing her gone.

Suddenly, Chiyo gave a laugh, "Haha, I gotcha, didn't I?" She continued laughing, "Oh my, Sasori, that shocked expression of yours is really priceless!"

The redhead's expression immediately changed from shock to annoyance. "Quit playing around, Grandma Chiyo," he stated, moving towards the old woman and sitting down on the couch, next to her. "So now, tell me the real reason why you are here," he continued, "And don't beat around the bush, get straight to the point as usual." His eyes narrowed, "You know your grandson doesn't like to wait."

The old woman gave a chuckle, her voice gruff due to her old age. "As impatient as always," she shook her head slightly, "Alright, I'll get straight to the point. I want you to marry Haruno Sakura."

Ouch. Sasori should have guessed. The sudden appearance of his ex-fiancée and Grandmother Chiyo could only mean something BAD. It certainly wasn't a pure coincidence for both of the women to appear on the same day and during Sasori's business trip.

"Grandma Chiyo…" The redhead gave a frustrated groan. "I thought we had this conversation a long time ago. I. AM. NOT. GOING. TO. MARRY. HARUNO-SAN. And that's final!"

"Think of it as some business," was Chiyo's reply. "You do know that Sakura-san has recently inherited her father's company and that her investment company has raked in the most profit in Suna. She's one of the richest people in Suna."

"Argh! I'm already one of the richest businessmen in Suna, grandma Chiyo," snapped Sasori. "Besides, I'm not going to think about marriage at a time like this."

"You are thirty-years-old already, Sasori," his grandmother reminded him.

"I know," the redhead sighed, "But I have a company to take care of and all of that…"

Chiyo merely cut in, "The business can wait, Sasori." Then, she actually pouted, "But my cute great-grandchildren cannot wait." She made a pleading look, "Do you want to see your poor old grandmother die without having to see her beloved great-grandchildren?"

"Oh, please no." Sasori rubbed his temples. "You know that I hate children, Grandma Chiyo," he stated. "Even if I by any chance, got married. I. WOULD. NOT. HAVE. CHILDREN." He shook his head, "Now, if you would please excuse me, I really need a long nice rest from a whole day of work."

The old woman sighed, as she walked towards the exit of the room. "But I won't give up, you know!" She sulked, "I want to see my great-grandchildren. Preferably a great-grandson, before I kick the bucket!"

"Good night, grandma Chiyo," the redhead quickly cut in as he ignored the old woman. Chiyo then exited the room and closed the door behind her, leaving him alone. Sasori slumped into the king sized bed after his grandmother had left.

It was really annoying that his grandmother always managed to get the key for his hotel room, as she invited herself in without Sasori's permission. Well, Chiyo was one of the most influential people in Suna, so it wasn't like it was impossible for her to do so.

_What a busy day…_thought the redhead as he loosened his tie around his neck. With the help of the elasticity of the bed, Sasori forced his tired self up as he proceeded to the bathroom for a nice warm shower. Minutes later, he was finished and dressed in his pajamas. _Finally! Sleep!_ He thought tiredly, plopping into bed.

Just as slumber was about to take over the redhead, Sasori's cell phone began to ring. Groaning, he reached out for the phone. He stared at the screen, as a series of numbers blinked across it. Sasori knew that it was some unknown caller. Well, at least someone whose number was not on his phone's list.

"Hello?" Sasori answered, his voice slightly groggy. "Who are you?"

"Hey, Sasori-danna!" A bubbly voice greeted the redhead. "It's me, Deidara, un!"

"…" The redhead gave a yawn, "What is it, brat?" he said, with a tired voice.

"Oh…am I disturbing you? I'm sorry, un," apologized the blond. "Well, the thing is, I've received some free movie tickets from some random contest, un! And I was wondering if you are free tomorrow night?"

"You are asking me out for a movie?" The redhead was quite surprised.

"Yea, un."

"Why?" Sasori stifled a yawn. His tone seemed dull.

"I thought we already had the conversation this afternoon?" The blond said. "I like you and I know you are somehow attracted to me, un. So, why not give ourselves a chance?"

"…" There was a moment of silence, before Sasori found his voice again. "What time is it? And where?"

"About 9p.m, un...at the Akatsuki Cinema on Seiryu Street." Sasori could hear excitement in the blond magician's voice. "Should I pick you up after work then, ?"

"No thanks. My chauffeur would be available tomorrow," replied the redheaded businessman.

"Oh…" Sasori swore he heard a slight disappointment in Deidara's voice. "Well, okay then. See you tomorrow night, un!" said the blond. "Good night."

"Good night…" mumbled the redhead as he hung up and immediately dozed off.

* * *

Meanwhile, Deidara lay on his bed as a smile graced his face. He was glad that the redhead had agreed to go out with him. Even though it was only a movie. He looked at the clock on his bedroom wall. It was getting pretty late, but the blond magician didn't seem to be able to sleep.

Suddenly, blue flames began to burst out of a weird-looking vase, which was placed next to Deidara's bed. The blond magician's gaze turned towards the vase. Then the flames began to subside and a piece paper seemed to pop out of the vase and then the paper slowly landed onto the floor.

'_Ah…a letter from mum, un._' Thought the blond as he got out of bed and picked up the piece of paper.

_**How was your day? **_The message was short.

The moment Deidara had finished reading the message, the words faded until there was nothing left but a piece of white paper. The blond shrugged as he grabbed a pen and wrote down something.

_**Fine. I guess. By the way, I've met the person that you said I was going to meet. **_The blond magician smiled as he continued. _**How was your day anyway? **_ He then folded the paper and tossed it back into the vase. Flames shot out of the container and soon subsided.

That was the only way Deidara could contact his mother. By writing letters or messages and 'sending' them through the vase, which acted as a portal to another world. Deidara's mother was a witch. Yes, a witch. A witch who married a mortal (Deidara's dad), a forbidden act. So, just like any tragic love story and all that, the couple was separated and not allowed to see each other again.

Deidara had been six when his mother was taken away from him, shortly after she gave birth to his little sister. He couldn't really comprehend what was happening at the moment, but deep inside, he knew that he was not going to see his mother ever again.

Luckily for them, the Witches' council (the one who enforces the law in the other world) decided to let Deidara's dad (and the rest of the family) contact Deidara's mother via letters, though they could never see her.

Deidara snapped out of his trance when flames began to emerge from the vase again. He picked up the letter and read it. _**Ah, I see. Good luck with your 'fated one'. By the way, how's Ino? **_Deidara frowned at the mention of his little sister.

'_Damn, what should I tell mum, un?_' He thought. '_Well, her grades have been slipping and she seems to have a crush on her new teacher?_' No, that was definitely not something to tell mum about.

Sighing, Deidara wrote. _**Well, she's fine. Just that she needs to improve her grades a little. **_ He sent the message.

His mother made a reply. _**I'm really concerned about that girl. Please take good care of her, in my place. **_

_**I will.**_ Deidara sighed as he thought about his younger sister who didn't seem to listen to him at all. Well, she was a teenager and teenagers rebel. Deidara had been one before. Still…he was the older sibling and it was his duty to help and protect his younger sister.

_**Okay. I'm sure you will. Good night, Dei.**_

_**Good night.**_ The blond replied to the message. He switched off the lights and went to bed.

* * *

Morning light shone into the hotel room where a certain Akasuna Sasori was currently staying. The redhead was already dressed up and ready for work. He had finished his breakfast, which was sent to his room that morning. Grabbing his briefcase, the redhead exited the room.

Sasori's chauffeur was already waiting for him at the entrance of the hotel and the redhead took no time in getting into the car. It took off along with its driver and passenger. Whenever they came to a halt when the traffic light turned red, the redhead found himself looking out of the window, seemingly hoping that he would spot the blond magician.

The redhead mentally slapped himself to have done such an act. Shaking his head slightly, he turned away from the window. '_What the hell are you doing, Sasori?!_' His mind scolded. '_Stop that!_ _You are acting like a love-sick fool!_' Sasori let out a groan of frustration as he shut his eyes. Okay…so, what if he was looking for the blond somehow? There was just no way that the blond would suddenly appear. Yesterday's encounter was purely a…coincidence. Surely, coincidence wouldn't happen twice, now would it?

Opening his eyes slowly, the redhead turned towards the window. What surprised him was that the blond magician was suddenly there, on his bike. Deidara didn't seem to see the redhead because the car windows were tinted a dark black. Sasori caught himself staring at the blond who was oblivious of the red-haired businessman's presence.

A part of him wanted to wind down the window and say 'hi', but his pride seemed to hold him back. The redhead felt that it was not like him to automatically greet someone unless it was important, and greeting said blond was immediately tossed into Sasori's 'unimportant-list'.

'_Now, now, Sasori, wouldn't it be better if you say 'hi' to him than to stare at him?_' another part of him questioned. Just as the redhead had decided to greet the blond, the traffic light had already turned green. '_Well, you still have a date with him tonight…_' Sasori reminded himself. He was really looking forward to the date, even though part of him denied the fact.

Hmm…since when did Akasuna Sasori look forward to something so trivial as a 'date'? Even he did not know that answer.

* * *

Sasori reached his company minutes later. And as the redhead had expected, a pink haired lady was already at the foyer. "Good morning, Sasori-kun!" Sakura greeted the red-haired man with a smile as she approached him.

"Good morning, Sakura-san," he greeted politely.

The rest of the day was just like any other day, with lots of meeting, signing important documents, getting bombarded with lots of questions by Sakura, and visiting the factory. Well, Sasori had already gotten used to the boring schedule anyway. It was his job (well, minus the 'getting-bombarded-with-lots-of-questions-by-Sakura' part).

Thank goodness Chiyo did not show up at his workplace and bug him about getting her some cute great-grandchildren. The thought made Sasori shiver as he imagined little brats running around and annoying the hell out of him. He swore to himself that he was so not having any children.

'_I wonder if that brat likes children anyway…_' Sasori froze all of a sudden at the thought, blushing furiously. '_What the hell were you thinking?!_' his inner-mind screamed. The thoughts about having children just kinda made him think of the blond. It was not a perverted thought! It was just that…the redhead was slightly…err…curious. Yea, curious about how two guys were supposed to…

The redhead immediately stopped the thought. His face now as red as a tomato. Everyone in the conference room seemed to stare at him with odd looks. He ignored them as he flicked the pen in his hand, trying to distract himself.

"Stupid blond brat…" he muttered to himself, not knowing why. He considered calling off the date at that very moment, but decided against it. Deidara's voice was still ringing in his ears…

'_I like you and I know you are somehow attracted to me, un. So, why not give ourselves a chance?_'

A chance. Yea, Sasori guessed that he should give the relationship a chance. He could not lie to himself; he really was attracted to the blond magician and there was no point in denying it. There was nothing to lose right?

* * *

Night came. Sasori stared out of the office window as the lights from buildings decorated the night. He couldn't see the stars. Light pollution. It was to expect from a big city like Iwa. The red-haired man recalled seeing the clear night skies decorated with stars, back in Suna, his hometown.

Taking a look at his watch, Sasori decided it was time for him to leave. He pulled out his cell phone and was about to give his chauffeur, Kabuto, a call when a text message arrived. It was from Deidara.

The message read. '_**Well, I just want to remind you that we have a date at 9p.m at the Akatsuki Cinema. Don't be late!**_'

Sasori rolled his eyes. '_As if I _would_ be late?_' He smirked and replied back, '_**Same goes for you. Don't be late. I hate to wait.**_' Then, he proceeded in giving his chauffeur a call.

Sakura was just getting back to the building from dinner the moment Sasori walked out of the elevator. She seemed surprised when Sasori had a briefcase in his hand. "You are leaving so early, Sasori-kun..." stated the pink-haired-lady as she stared at him. "Where are you heading?"

Sasori pondered about what to say to the pink haired-lady. '_Well, I have a date._' No, no. That wasn't something he should tell Sakura. "I'm feeling a little tired, so I guess I'll head back to the hotel for a rest." The lie came out smoothly.

"Oh, I see. Do you want me to accompany you to a doctor?" Sakura asked, worried.

"No, I'm fine, Sakura-san," the redhead nodded slightly, saying a quick goodbye as he exited the building and got into the vehicle which had just arrived.

TBC…

A/n: I think this was the most boring chapter I've ever written. Gomen-ne, no inspiration at the moment and I wanted to make it longer but err…I can't seem to write something 'interesting' at the moment, so I think I'll make the story more interesting in the next chapter. XD Anyway, please R&R to tell me what you think. Thanks.


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuuden or any characters in it.

A/n: Thank you so much to **Kyra213** for BETA-ing this chapter.

_Italics are thoughts or flashbacks._

**Chapter 6**

Sasori felt his head starting to hurt as he stood in front of the crowded cinema. He had never liked the crowds, it always made him feel uncomfortable. His dark brown eyes scanned the place, hoping that he might find the blond there. But he was nowhere in sight. Slowly, the redhead made his way into the cinema.

'_Damn…he's late_,' thought Sasori glumly. He took a glance at his watch. It read 9:05 and he couldn't help but feel annoyed that the blond had made him wait. He stuffed his hand into his pocket and was about to pull out his cell phone.

"Danna, un!"

Sasori's head snapped up almost immediately when he heard the familiar voice. He saw the blond magician waving at him, carrying a bucket of popcorn in his left hand and wearing a plain navy blue t-shirt and a pair of baggy jeans. Sasori felt his face turn red in embarrassment, feeling as if everyone were to staring at him. Before he knew it, the blond had made his way towards the redhead as he gave him a peck on his cheek.

Sasori was in shock. Clearly, everyone was looking at both of them right now. He swore he could hear someone saying something like, "Hey, isn't that blond a guy?" Sasori felt as if his mind was going to burst.

"What's wrong, Sasori, un?" Deidara's voice snapped the redhead out of his trance.

The redhead shook his head as he grabbed the blond by his sleeve and pulled Deidara to him. "What is it with you?!" he whispered fiercely, "Everyone's looking at us right now!"

Deidara winced, "No, they're not. What makes you think that?"

Sasori glared, "I just don't like the attention."

At that, Deidara laughed, "You think that everyone's looking at both of us because we're gay?" Sasori gulped at that word, seeming ridiculously childlike as he looked around uncomfortably.

"Gee danna, un, there's nothing wrong with that." Deidara said as-a-matter-of-factly. "Besides, didn't you know that almost 70% of the population in Iwa is homosexual?" He shrugged. "See, we don't stand out too much," said the blond as he pointed towards a couple who was kissing in the corner of the room.

Sasori turned. The blond did not have to explain to make him understand. He took a look around him and found out that most of the couples here were actually homo. How could he have been so oblivious?!

"See, danna, un. No one's looking at us, un." Then, the blond grabbed the redhead by his wrist. "Come on, the movie's starting in about 5 minutes, un." He handed the ticket-person the tickets as both he and the redhead entered the theater.

* * *

Meanwhile, a certain silver-haired chauffeur was sipping coffee at the coffeehouse nearby the Akatsuki Cinema. He knew that it wasn't wise to wander too far because his boss would be mad at him if he were to be late to pick him up. The chauffeur known as Kabuto sighed as he looked at his watch: still one more hour before the movie ended.

Kabuto was glad that he'd brought his Biology book to keep him company or else he'd be bored to death having to wait on his boss. His brows were furrowed as he read through the lines, trying to comprehend the whole thing. It was always his ambition to be a doctor but due to financial problems, Kabuto had to halt his studies and get a job.

He had tried applying for scholarships but was denied the opportunity because he wasn't considered a citizen of Suna; the color of his hair was proof that he was from somewhere else. His actual hometown was in Konoha, but since his mother remarried, he had followed her to Suna. Not long after, both his mother and step-father were involved in an accident and passed away, leaving him alone in an orphanage at the age of twelve.

Kabuto took up several jobs after he left the orphanage at the age of sixteen, while studying at the same time. He managed to finish high school, but was short of money to enter college to get a medical degree. He then landed a job as Akasuna Sasori's chauffeur at the age of twenty-two. The pay was not bad, actually, and Kabuto had counted in two years time, he would be able to continue his studies.

"My, my, aren't you Akasuna-san's driver?" A voice interrupted Kabuto from his studies. He looked up to greet a pair of golden eyes staring at him. "He does have a taste for beautiful things, doesn't he?"

"Excuse me?" Kabuto winced at the comment.

The man chuckled. "I'm sorry to have not introduced myself. My name is Orochimaru. I'm Akasuna-san's business partner," said the pale man. "Mind if I join you? It's kind of lonely having to dine alone."

"Yes…" The silver-haired man shook his head, "I mean, I don't mind." He watched as the pale snake-like man sat down across the table. After a few moments of silence, the silver haired man spoke, "So, what do you really want?" His eyes narrowed, "You didn't just bump into me, did you?"

"You are sharp, young lad," Orochimaru said with a chuckle. "No wonder you are renowned for being a first class spy of the business world." Golden eyes locked onto black ones, "I want the drafts on the latest puppet Akasuna-san is working on."

"Oh-ho…and I thought you were his business partner." Kabuto tilted his glasses, a smirk on his face. "Besides, what makes you think a chauffeur would be able to get this information?"

Orochimaru raised a brow, "Yakushi Kabuto…"

"Oh, and you know my name even before I'd introduce myself." Kabuto smirked, "You have definitely done your homework." He closed the Biology book that he'd been reading earlier and placed it on the table. "Too bad, I've been out of this business for a long time." He shrugged, "I guess you should find somebody else for this job."

"Fifty thousand," The snake-like man said. "Fifty thousand for the drafts. Then you would be able to continue your studies won't you?"

"Ah…" Kabuto tilted his glasses, "Indeed that would be enough for my college fees, but…" He shrugged, "My job's pay is already good: I'll be able to start college in two year's time. It's not worth the risk."

"A hundred thousand," Orochimaru offered.

This time it was Kabuto's turn to let out a chuckle, "Now, that's interesting. I doubt you could even get the amount back from selling the products."

"In other words, you are telling me it's not worth it?" Before Kabuto could speak, Orochimaru continued, "What if it's not the money that I'm after? What if it's something else that I'm after?"

"And what might that be?" questioned the silver-haired man.

"I don't need to tell you, now, do I?"

Kabuto smirked, "Indeed." He then stood up, "I have to leave now, Sasori-sama's probably waiting." He gave a slight bow, and then exited the building.

There was simply no way he could obtain the information. Sasori had kept it hidden away even from his private assistant. Kabuto recalled back the time when he had actually been sent as a spy to work for Sasori. It was to get some document from the redhead but then he failed and was stuck being a chauffeur. _Well, at least the pay is good,_ thought Kabuto.

The aforesaid silver haired man then entered the car and was about to start the engine when he realized that he had left his book at the restaurant. "Ah! Screw it!" Kabuto said out loud before starting up the engine. At that very moment, his cell phone rang.

The screen of the cell phone flashed his boss's name. Heaving a sigh, he answered the call. "Yes, Sasori-sama?" After having listened to the instructions given by his redheaded boss, the silver-haired man headed off to the Iwa General Hospital.

'_Why the sudden change of place?_' thought Kabuto, though he never did find out the answer, because it was a rule never to ask any unnecessary questions.

* * *

After hanging up the phone, the redhead turned his attention towards the blond magician who was sitting at the corner of the room. Deidara's expression was a worried one. Sasori couldn't blame him; after all it was Deidara's best friend who was in the emergency room.

Said best friend, Hidan, had encountered a car accident while on his way to attend the weekly gathering at the Holy church of Jashin. Due to the fact that Hidan did not have any family members of whatsoever, the hospital had called Deidara since he was his closest friend.

"That idiot better have money to pay for the damages of my car," a voice spoke. Sasori turned to see the treasurer of FanTocHe sitting on one of the benches in the hospital. Said treasurer seemed to also be involved in the car accident, yet strange enough he was unharmed, save only a few bruises here and there.

"There's a severely injured man lying inside the emergency room, and all you care about are the damages done on your car?!" Deidara yelled, causing a nurse to glare at him.

Rubbing his temples gingerly, said treasurer, better known as Kakuzu, spoke, "Well, he was the one who was going the wrong way." He narrowed his eyes, "He was lucky I didn't end up lying in the emergency room, or I'd have to make him pay extra for all the damages caused." The mere thought of hospital bills seemed to horrify Kakuzu.

The blond magician didn't seem to be in the mood to argue with the man. "Danna, un…do you think he'll be alright?" The mention of his own name made Sasori looked up. The redhead shrugged.

"I don't know, Deidara…" That was the best answer he could give. He didn't want to give false hopes like 'I'm sure he's going to be alright' and the likes. Sasori did not want to lie. He hated it when people lie to him. Those cheesy dialogues written only in television scripts did not appeal to the redhead at all. '_How can you be so sure they're going to be alright?_' These were the very words Sasori had spoken to his grandmother the night his parents were involved in the accident. '_Don't say anything if you aren't sure about it_.'

The red light of the emergency room finally turned to green as a doctor walked out of the surgical room. Deidara immediately questioned him about Hidan's situation. The doctor assured them that the silver-haired man was fine and that Deidara should go home and take a rest as it was already late.

The mention of the time made Sasori realize that he'd been in the hospital for hours. '_Shit, why didn't Kabuto call me?_' He quickly checked his cell phone to find that the battery was already dead.

"Danna! He's okay, un!" Deidara exclaimed as he hugged the redhead suddenly. Sasori froze. He hadn't expected that. The blond pulled away from the redhead moments later. The situation was kind of awkward as the blond magician chuckled at the redhead's reaction. Sasori had been dumbfounded, staring stupidly at the blonde without realizing that his face had gone as red as the shade of his hair.

"Ahem," Kakuzu's voice interrupted the couple. "Deidara Iwa, is it?" The blond nodded slightly as the green-eyed man continue, "Since your friend won't be available for maybe a couple of days or weeks, I think you should pay for all the damages done." He faked a smile, "The total's 1000 dollars."

Deidara's eyes widened, shocked by the amount.

"Shouldn't we see the bills first?" Sasori's questioned, his tone was bored.

"I'd confirmed with the mechanic," stated Kakuzu.

Sasori shrugged, "I don't know about that." He continued, "But I think its best if we wait for the person involved in the accident to wake up first before any decisions are made." Before Kakuzu could say anything, Sasori dragged Deidara out of the place, saying that they should get going as it was getting late.

Sasori and Deidara were already outside the hospital building as the redhead stopped to search for his limousine. It was not in sight.

"Deidara, could you please lend me your cell phone?" asked the redhead.

The blond immediately handed it to the redhead and Sasori wasted no time in calling his chauffeur.

"Darn it!" Sasori cursed as he called for the fifth time. His chauffeur wasn't picking up. The redhead then returned the phone to Deidara.

"Hmm? You chauffeur's not answering, un?"

Sasori nodded as he turned away. "Could you…" He paused.

"Hmm?" Deidara tilted his head to the side, "Could I send you back, you mean?"

"…Yea." Sasori shifted uncomfortably. "If you don't mind."

Deidara grinned. "Sure, I could. You are my danna after all un!"

Sasori blushed at that remark but he glared at the blond. "Thanks by the way…"

"No problem."

TBC…

A/n: Uh…review please? XD


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuuden or any characters in it.

_Italics are thoughts or flashbacks._

A/n: Thanks to **Kyra213** for beta-ing the fic!

Chapter 7

Sasori woke up feeling sleepy from the lack of sleep the night before. His head felt dizzy as he yawned. He reached out to turn off his alarm automatically, and groggily sat up.

"Morning, Danna, un…" A voice spoke, which made Sasori turned immediately.

There, a blond lay in his bed, staring up at him. "Deidara?" Sasori was shocked. When did he get here? Questions filled up Sasori's mind. Oh right…his bike broke down and Sasori had offered for him to stay the night. But then, what was the blond doing in HIS bed?! Sasori thought he had told Deidara to sleep on the couch?

"Un…you were having nightmares." Deidara replied, as if he could read Sasori's mind. "So um…" He smiled like he usually did.

"Get off my bed." Sasori said coldly.

Deidara laughed, "Gosh, you needn't be so uptight about everything, you know, un?" He flung his hands in mid-air, "It's not like I did anything to you…"

Sasori blushed. Faking a cough, he got out of bed and entered the bathroom. Deidara merely stared at the redhead, his usual Cheshire-cat grin plastered on his face. _He really looks cute when he's embarrassed_, thought the blond magician as he, too, got out of bed, sliding on the T-shirt he had left on the couch.

Turning on the cold shower, Sasori let the water wash away his sleepiness. The image of the blond laying half-naked next to the redhead intruded Sasori's mind. He shook his head to clear out the image. Gosh…how could he think of the blond that way? It was really embarrassing. He felt his face burning despite the cold water splashing on it.

Sasori began to ponder if it was okay for him to go on with the relationship or if he should just stop seeing the blond. The magician seemed to knock off his sense of reasoning and make him act unlike his old self. But it would be unbearable for Sasori to stop seeing the blond.

'_Why not give ourselves a chance?_' Deidara's words seemed to echo in Sasori's mind. He bit his lips. Well, the redhead did give them both a chance but what did it get him in the end? He seemed to change totally, acting like some love-sick fool without any rationality.

First of all, Sasori Akasuna WOULD NOT go out on a date **coughs** make that TWO dates with someone he just met for reasons unrelated to business. Secondly, Sasori Akasuna would never run into the crowds, hoping to see that someone and definitely not stare at said someone thinking he was beautiful. Thirdly, Sasori Akasuna would not wait at the hospital with the same someone and offering comfort to aforesaid someone whenever said person needed it. It had always been Sasori's way to mind his own business.

Sasori thought that it was an unhealthy change for him.

_Well, it is natural to feel that way when you are in love_, said inner-Sasori. _And you seem to be happier than you were before he showed up. _Sasori could not deny that. He was at ease whenever the blond magician was around.

"Another chance…" Sasori muttered to himself. Then maybe he would quit if he were to lose himself again…

Reaching out, the redhead turned off the tap. Wrapping a towel around himself, Sasori then stepped out of the bathroom. Deidara sat on the couch, magazine in hand. The blond looked up and smiled at him the moment he walked out of the bathroom.

"Mm…you look sexy, un."

Sasori glared at the comment as he hurried to the closet to get himself something to wear. It was a Saturday, and therefore he did not need to dress up in anything formal because he did not have to go to work. What a strange country Iwa was, to ban anyone from working on weekends, except for the restaurants, the malls, and the likes.

_A plain T-shirt perhaps_…thought the redhead as he took out the piece of clothing that he wanted to wear. He could hear the door closed behind him and he knew that the blond magician was using the bathroom.

* * *

A certain Uchiha laid his back on the seat of the airplane. He turned his head slightly so that he faced a younger Uchiha next to him. Said younger Uchiha seemed to be asleep. Smiling, he ran his fingers through his brother's hair. The younger didn't seem to notice as he continued his slumber.

The older Uchiha known as Itachi sighed to himself. Well, who could blame him? His one-week vacation was already over and now he was heading towards Iwa to assist his boss in his job. Oh well, at least Sasuke would be with him during his stay in Iwa. Just imagining the nights he would spend with his younger brother made him smirked unconsciously.

'_You are such a pervert, Itachi._' He mentally scolded himself. Who could blame him? Sasuke seemed so…so…desirable. Itachi had noticed his attraction towards his younger brother when they were younger. Still, he hid it from everyone, including Sasuke. Itachi seemed to be a natural for hiding things, keeping his emotions locked inside, no one seemed to be able to read him.

FLASHBACKS…

_Itachi was 14 and Sasuke was 7 when their parents divorced. The two siblings were forced to be separated from each other. Their father – Fugaku – had remarried and moved to Suna along with Itachi while their mother – Mikoto – remained in Konoha along with Sasuke. _

_The siblings could only see each other during the summer and it was not pleasant for the younger Uchiha who was very attached towards the older one. In a few months time, the phone bills sky-rocketed and Mikoto had no choice but to cut off the phone line. Sasuke had thrown a tantrum but still could do nothing about it, only wait till summer came._

_The two brothers spent every summer together until their father died of liver cancer. At that time, Itachi was already 23 and Sasuke was 16. After the funeral, Mikoto offered for him to move back to Konoha with them, but Itachi had declined the offer, because he had already secured a job in Suna. Sasuke resented Itachi for that, thinking that Itachi did not want to be with him._

_The brothers did not spend their summers together after that and Sasuke refused to speak to Itachi for two years. Being the prideful person he was, he had never forgiven his elder brother. Sasuke only spoke to Itachi because he was to live with his elder brother while he studied at one of the colleges in Suna. It was not his idea to study in Suna, but their mother's. _

_Sasuke grudgingly packed up and left for Suna. Being the prick he was, Sasuke did not say anything more to Itachi when they were living together. Itachi too did not do anything special to ease Sasuke's anger problems and he treated Sasuke as usual. He did not even ask the younger sibling why he wouldn't talk to him, continuing to act coldly as usual which annoyed Sasuke to no end. Just to spite his brother, Sasuke started dating girls and even brought them home. Yet, Itachi still said nothing. _

_This went on for three years until a certain pink-haired lady by the name of Haruno Sakura came into the picture. When Sasuke told Itachi he was going to marry Sakura, the impassive mask Itachi had worn all along crumbled. His eyes turned wide and he stared at Sasuke, not knowing what to say to him. Sasuke, of course, noticed the changes in his elder brother's expression and smirked. _

_Oh, he was so going to toy with Itachi. "So, what do you think?" asked Sasuke as he chewed his dango. The next thing Sasuke knew was that the dango stick had been snatched away from him and Itachi's lips were pressing against his. It was not something he thought Itachi would do, but the younger Uchiha liked it. He, too, was secretly in love with his elder brother but he had not dared to admit it in front of Itachi. He had his pride. _

_Itachi then pulled away from Sasuke, saying something like, 'If you really love her, I won't object to it.' Then he turned and was about to leave the room when Sasuke threw the plate that held the dango at him. _

_It hit Itachi right in his face. Thank goodness the plate was made of plastic and not glass or else it might have hurt Itachi badly. But that might be the reason for Sasuke throwing it at his elder brother. He knew it wouldn't injure his brother in any way._

_Itachi stood there dumbfounded. He noticed that his little brother was fuming from the way he glared at him, his breathing uneven. The younger of the two then stood up and walked towards the elder one. He passed by him and was about to leave when Itachi suddenly grabbed him by the wrist._

"_Where do you think you are going, Sasuke?" Itachi's voice came out monotone. His grasp on Sasuke's wrist tightened suddenly as he pulled the younger one towards him. "It is rude to throw things at your brother like that." He met his younger brother's eyes._

_Sasuke gulped. He would not show his fear in front of his brother. "Ah, what are you going to do about it then?" _

_The grip on Sasuke's wrist loosened. Itachi then whispered in Sasuke's ears. "I want you to clean me." _

_Sasuke blushed. Was his brother trying to seduce him? It seemed like it. Oh God, he certainly did not expect this. This was just so unreal to him. Sasuke let his eyes fall onto his elder brother's facial expression. Itachi's mouth had curved into a smile…no, more like a smirk. _

_The event that happened after that is strictly M-rated which is unsuitable for this PG-13 fanfic. (The actual fact is the incapability of the author to write *coughs*) _

END OF FLASHBACKS…

Itachi sighed softly; he couldn't believe he had actually done that. Still, he never regretted having to claim Sasuke as his own. He bent over Sasuke's sleeping figure slightly and planted a kiss on his forehead. He stared at the sleeping figure. Did Sasuke know how much he meant to him?

* * *

"Grandma Chiyo! For the hundredth time, I said there's no one in there!" A panic-stricken Sasori said as he pulled his grandmother away from the door of the bathroom.

It was inconvenient that Sasori's grandmother had chosen now of all times to barge into Sasori's suite. The old woman was suspicious to find the bathroom door locked and hear water running from inside.

"Then why is the door locked, my dear grandson?" questioned the old woman. "Don't think I've gone senile, Sasori." She raised a brow, "You've brought a woman here, didn't you?"

Sasori fidgeted, "No…" It would be simple if he had just brought a woman back but no! It had to be that blond magician who was a MAN! And they didn't even do anything together. Not that Sasori wanted to do _anything_ with him. He swore he had not thought anything perverted about the blond. '_Yea right…_' Inner-Sasori said sarcastically.

Sasori had no time to argue with his inner self. He was more concerned with the situation at hand. If his grandmother saw Deidara, Sasori knew she was either going to faint from the shock or yelled at Sasori.

He was so not going to risk letting his grandmother find out that he was gay…which he denied a thousand times over! He was only attracted to ONE guy, so that did not mean he was gay. Right…?

"Now, now Sasori, don't lie to your grandmother." said Chiyo. "It's perfectly normal for a man to bring a woman to his room." She chuckled. "Tell me Sasori, is she a beauty?"

Hearing the sound of the water tap being turned off, Sasori began to panic, not even hearing his grandmother's question. _Oh no! He's going to be out in a couple of minutes! _ The redhead paled at the thought of his grandmother seeing the blond magician. Various scenes began to pop out in Sasori's mind and one of them involving Chiyo killing Deidara with her purse. The most optimistic one was that Chiyo accepted Sasori's sexual orientation and all was well – still it didn't take a genius to figure out that it was IMPOSSIBLE for that to happen.

Sasori felt his heart stop when the doorknob turned and the door opened to reveal…no one there. No blond magician in sight. Sasori's eyes widened with surprise. _What is going on?_

Chiyo scratched her head. "Hmm? Weird, why isn't anyone in here?" She pushed the door wide open to fully reveal the bathroom. Aside from the sink, the bathtub, the toilet bowl and all the things that were usually found in hotel bathrooms, there was no one.

Sasori wanted to let out a sigh of relief but he was too surprised to do so. It did not make any sense to him. He had seen Deidara enter the bathroom minutes ago and the blond couldn't have disappeared out of thin air. It was not logical.

Just as Sasori was about to say something, the doorbell rang. Chiyo turned, "Oh! That must be Sakura." She then made her way to open the door for the pink haired lady who greeted the old woman with a warm smile.

"Morning Grandma Chiyo!" Then she waved at Sasori. "Good morning Sasori-kun!"

Sasori was not paying attention to the lady because his mind was still pondering about the incident. _It makes no sense! It makes no sense! It makes no sense! _ Then suddenly a word popped into his mind. _Magic…that would explain the whole thing._ But being Sasori, he would not and could not accept that as an explanation. _Yea, it must have been something else._ He made a mental note to ask the blond magician about it afterwards.

"…I hope you don't mind." Chiyo ended her sentence.

Sasori who had finally snapped out of his trance blinked, "What?"

Chiyo shook her head. "Pay attention when I'm talking to you, Sasori," she scolded. "Anyway, I had invited Sakura to have breakfast with us. I hope you don't mind." She narrowed her eyes at the redhead, hinting something along the lines of '_you-better-be-nice-to-my-future-granddaughter-in-law'_.

"Sure…" Sasori said in monotone, hints of sarcasm present in his voice. "I would be glad to have breakfast with Haruno-san."

Then the three left the room.

TBC…

A/n: I'm SO SORRY for the LATE update! T.T Busy with making AMVs and school. *sigh* Oh well…I hope you like the chapter so far. Please R&R btw.


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuuden or any characters in it.

A/n: Thank you so much to **Kyra213** for BETA-ing this chapter.

_Italics are thoughts or flashbacks._

**Chapter 8**

DING! The elevator stopped at the first floor and the doors opened. A certain blond walked out to be greeted by the hotel staffs. The hotel manager informed him that his bike had been sent to the garage and was already repaired, waiting for him at the parking lot of the hotel. Deidara smiled and thanked the man then proceeded to get his bike.

He let his thoughts drift to the event that happened moments ago. FLASHBACKS…

_Deidara was in the bathroom, enjoying the lukewarm water as it washed him. He heard two voices outside the bathroom. He recognized Sasori's voice and another woman's voice. Someone was out there. Instinctively, the blond knew it would be unwise for him to stepped out of the bathroom and introduce himself to Sasori's friend or whoever outside. _

_The voices became louder as he heard Sasori say, "Grandma Chiyo, there's no one in there!" Then, he heard the woman's reply. Ah, it must be Sasori's grandmother. The blond continued his shower as he listened to the two argued. A smile appeared on Deidara's face as he shook his head._

_He never wanted Sasori to be in a bad situation. He knew he must leave without letting anyone see him. Turning off the tap, Deidara then slide on his clothes and made his way to the bathroom door. The noise outside had subsided but Deidara knew that the two people were still there._

_Closing his eyes, Deidara chanted something. _

"…_Three, Two, One…" The magician unlocked the door and stepped out of the bathroom. He took a glance at the two people who stood outside the bathroom. They were frozen. Frozen in time. The spell had worked. Deidara let the door hang open and then walked towards the exit of the suite. Taking a last glance at the redhead, Deidara disappeared through the door, the door clicking as it locked itself behind him._

_The blond then strolled along the corridor. Everything was frozen. The housekeeping lady frozen in her task of changing the sheets. Deidara walked pass her and saw a pink-haired lady who had previously been walking towards Sasori's suite. The blond recognized the lady as Sasori's friend. He walked pass her and entered the elevator that was already opened. The pink-haired lady must have been here to see Sasori. Thought Deidara as time suddenly unfroze and the elevator door closed. _

END OF FLASHBACKS…

Deidara sighed at the thought of having to use magic in a situation like this. He knew he could have just walk out and said 'Hi' to the old woman and Sasori, but he didn't, even though he loved excitement and knew it would be fun to see the redhead in a situation like this.

_It's better not to push him too fa_r. That was the thought that stopped Deidara from doing what he was planning to do. He did not want to lose the redhead, and most of all, he never wanted to hurt Sasori.

It was the right way to leave like this. Oh, he knew Sasori would find him and would question him about his actions. He couldn't wait to see the redhead's annoyed face when he told him, "Magic." Deidara couldn't help but chuckle, _Humans are really weird. They would rather believe in lies than the truth if the truth contradicts what their beliefs. _

Deidara got on his bike and started the engine. He was going to visit Hidan at the hospital before going home. The blond magician knew his sister, Ino, was so going to question him on his whereabouts last night and he would tell her, tell her all about the amazing redhead he had met and about how the redhead was his fated one. He knew Ino would react with a gasp and get hyper over the Yaoi. Ino had always been a Yaoi fangirl.

* * *

"…so, I was saying we should go for a visit at the temple near the Iwa mountains." Sakura ended her sentence, waiting for Sasori to reply.

The redhead merely looked at the silverware in front of him. His mind had wandered off to somewhere else. The same old questions began to haunt him. _That's not possible…Magic? Huh! There is no such thing as magic!_ And the likes were nothing new ever since Sasori met Deidara. _There must be an explanation for all this_.

"Ahem," Grandma Chiyo's cough snapped Sasori out of his trance.

The redhead looked up. "Yes?"

"Sakura asked if you want to go to the temple with her." Chiyo raised a brow and gave a hint to her grandson to comply. Sasori rolled his eyes and was about to say something when Chiyo quickly interrupted, "Aww, my grandson is just shy, Sakura." She patted Sasori not-too-gently on his back. "No need to be shy, Sasori, I know you want to accompany Sakura since it's your off-day, _isn't that right, Sasori_?" The last few words seemed to have a thorn in them.

Sasori understood it well. He knew his grandmother would not let him off if he were to decline Sakura's offer. He looked at Sakura who was sitting across the table. She was smiling at him. Despite it all, Sasori would defy his grandmother and decline Sakura's offer to visit the temple.

Just as Sasori was about to open his mouth, Chiyo interrupted, "It's a deal then! I'll call Kabuto."

Sasori remembered that Itachi would be arriving at Iwa this afternoon, "Grandma Chiyo, I couldn't…"

Chiyo quickly cut the redhead off. "Now, where is Kabuto? Haven't seen him since this morning." She took out her cell phone and dialed. Sasori rolled his eyes. It was useless. Once Chiyo made up her mind, there was no changing it. It was best for Sasori to think about what to do the entire day with the pink-haired lady.

"I'm so glad you would be willing to come, Sasori," said Sakura. "I hear the temples in Iwa are beautiful. They really are works of art." Sakura had said the word 'art' because she knew Sasori loved art.

The word 'art' seemed to catch Sasori's attention. Oh well, it might not be too bad, right?

"Yes, please be here by 11." Saying this, Chiyo hung up. Turning towards her grandson and self-proclaimed 'future-granddaughter-in-law', she smiled at them. "I'm sure both of you will have a nice day together."

Sasori had to raise his hand to get Chiyo's attention. The old woman just wouldn't listen to him. "Grandma Chiyo, Uchiha-san's going to be here this afternoon. I need to…"

Chiyo merely brushed the redhead off, "I can arrange that. Now all you have to do is have fun with Sakura." She smiled.

"Sure…" Sasori muttered.

* * *

"Yes, yes. I'll be there on time." Saying this, Yakushi Kabuto hung up his phone. He turned and scanned the area. He was definitely not in his hotel room.

The sheets were a deep shade of purple and the walls were painted in dark colors. Kabuto concluded that he was definitely not in a hotel room. There was the sound of water running behind one of the doors. A bathroom. Kabuto knew someone was in there.

_What the hell happened_? He tried to recall the incident the other night. Oh yea, Sasori had told the silver-haired chauffeur to pick him up at the hospital. Kabuto remembered arriving to find no one there. After waiting for two and a half hours, Kabuto tried calling Sasori's cell but no one answered.

Kabuto then began to ponder if he had misheard his boss. He waited another half-an-hour before leaving the place. He had stopped by a bar on his way back and decided to go in for a drink. Kabuto remembered bumping into someone when he was in the bar, but he could not recall who. Soon, Kabuto had gotten drunk and the moment he regained consciousness, it was already morning and he was in some unknown place, naked and sore all over.

A one-night stand. Kabuto mentally slapped himself for letting his guard off like that. _You know you are a bad drinker_, scolded inner-Kabuto. Gosh, he could not have just jumped at anyone he met at the bar, could he? The thought of having sex with some stranger was enough to make Kabuto want to kill himself. Kabuto confirmed that he must have had sex with a man because he was sore somewhere that wouldn't be sore _if you were to sleep with a woman_. The silver-haired man swore to never ever drink again.

At that time, the sound of the running water stopped. Kabuto squinted at the bathroom door. _Damn, what happened to my glasses?_ he thought, unable to see clearly due to the fact he was severely shortsighted.

CLICK. The sound of the door unlocking meant that whoever that was inside the bathroom was going to come out soon. Kabuto's clenched his fists tightly, feeling nervous. Well, who could blame him?

The bathroom door opened and a man walked out. Shortsighted or not, Kabuto immediately recognized the man. With skin as pale as that and long dark hair, it was hard not to. The person standing in front of him was none other than the man Kabuto had met at the café.

'_Oro…something, was it?_' Kabuto tried to recall the name. _Yea, yea, he was the one who wanted to strike a deal with you_, replied inner-Kabuto. The silver-haired man looked silently at the man who was now approaching him.

"Have you slept well?" Orochimaru questioned the young man as he sat down next to where Kabuto lay. The pale man was wearing nothing but a towel which covered the lower part of his body. Kabuto could not help but notice that the man's body was even paler than his face and hands. Well, it was only natural because clothes more or less protect people from sunlight.

Without saying anything, Kabuto got out of bed, squinting as he tried to search for his clothes. Orochimaru noticed that the man was ignoring him. He smirked. _Playing hard-to-get?_ thought the gold-eyed man. "You were amazing last night," he said. It quickly earned him a glare from the younger man who was in the middle of getting himself dressed. The snake-like man chuckled, "even though it was your first time."

That made Kabuto snap. "What do you want?" his voice came out cold.

"Nothing, really," Orochimaru made a hand gesture, "just a compliment," Golden eyes locked onto dark ones.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Kabuto shifted his gaze away, and faked a cough. "Well, I don't remember anything." When the words slipped out, Kabuto felt like shooting himself in the head. _What was that supposed to mean_?

Orochimaru laughed. "Seriously, you can't recall _anything_?"

Now fully dressed, the silver haired man shrugged, "Well, doesn't matter anyway." He then turned to leave. He walked towards the door but then froze in his steps when Orochimaru's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"You've forgotten your glasses."

Turning, he realized that the gold-eyed man had his glasses and was whirling them around with a finger. Quickly, Kabuto approached the man who handed him his glasses. He took it without even noticing that Orochimaru's free hand was already around his waist.

Kabuto's eyes widened as he was pulled towards the bed. He landed with a thud and couldn't help but close his eyes for a second, and when he opened them again he realized that he was already pinned down by the taller man. Yet, Kabuto retained his composure, even when Orochimaru lowered his face towards his ear and whispered something.

"I hope that we can cooperate in near future." his voice was seductive. He had meant the deal earlier – the one that required Kabuto to steal some drafts from Sasori.

It was Kabuto's turn to laugh, "Interesting. You want those drafts that badly that you would even prostitute yourself for them?"

"Watch your mouth, boy." Venom was present in the snake-like man's voice. It slowly melted into something more placid, "I need not do something like that." His mouth brushed against the silver-haired man's ear.

It sent shivers down Kabuto's spine. The younger man tried hard to regain his composure, "Oh-ho? Please do explain."

"Yakushi Kabuto, you really do intrigue me." Orochimaru continued, "I can make you _want_ to work for me…Like I did with the others. They listen to only me, and no one else."

Kabuto chuckled, "With what? Black-magic? Voodoo?" A mocking question. "Seriously what makes you think I am like the others?"

Orochimaru had finished toying with the younger man's ear and was now locking his eyes with Kabuto's. "Oh no, you are not like the others." He said, "But I can still make you work for me. _No one can refuse me_."

"I would really like to see you try." Kabuto smirked as his hands made their way to the elder one's chest, shoving him away. Orochimaru let himself fall into a sitting position as the younger man got up. Kabuto then quickly slid on his glasses, walked towards the door, and opened it.

"Kabuto," Orochimaru's voice stopped the younger man in his tracks.

"Yes?"

"Talk to my butler, he'll show you where your car is."

"I see, thank you." Saying this, Kabuto was about to step out of the room and close the door behind him but Orochimaru's voice delayed him.

"And oh," the gold-eyed man continued, "I'm looking forward to seeing you in future."

* * *

Taking a huge bouquet or flowers, Deidara walked into the ward where his friend, Hidan, was staying. It was really a miracle that the Jashinist was already wide awake and arguing with a certain masked-man.

"I ain't fucking paying!" yelled Hidan.

The masked-man known as Kakuzu, who was also the treasurer of the FanTocHe Company, shot him a glare. "The hell you aren't paying for the damages done! I will sue you!"

"I would love to see you fucking try!" Hidan was fuming right now. There was no way in hell he was paying, it wasn't even his fault! "You were the one driving without your fucking headlights!"

"And you were the one driving in the wrong direction!" The treasurer argued back.

The two clearly did not notice that Deidara was already in the room. The blond had to fake a cough to gain their attention. Hidan turned towards the magician. "Hey, Hidan. Still as energetic as ever, un."

"What the fuck are you doing here, blondie?" Hidan glared. "I thought I fucking told you I didn't want to see you ever again!"

Deidara rolled his eyes, "Well, why is my fucking cell phone number still in your cell?" He mimicked the silver-haired man's way of talking. "The hospital called me yesterday, said you were injured badly."

Hidan looked away. He did not know why he didn't delete Deidara's number from his cell. _Oh well, he is…well, WAS your only fucking friend_. It was totally true. Hidan had not known anyone besides Deidara, which explained why the hospital could only find Deidara's number in Hidan's cell.

"Come on, Hidan, un." Deidara walked towards the man. "Forgive me, please, un." He smiled his Cheshire cat smile and tilted his head slightly to the side.

"How could I possibly fucking forgive you?!" Hidan's voice was sharp as he said that, pointing a finger at the blond magician he continued, "You fucking rejected me!"

Deidara rolled his eyes. "Oh, I thought I told you clearly that you are not the one, un?"

"Why can't I fucking be the one?!" Hidan questioned.

It was no point arguing with the stubborn Jashinist. Deidara quickly let the topic drop, "Look, Hidan, un. Let's not talk about this now." He placed the flowers carefully in a vase.

Hidan's ruby red eyes were on the blond, "Fuck you, blondie!"

"Does that mean you have forgiven me, un?" Hidan did not reply as he turned away. Deidara continued, his grin still plastered on his face, "I guess that's a 'yes', un."

Feeling totally ignored, Kakuzu faked a cough to regain attention. He then said to Hidan, "I'll be collecting my payment in three days time." He nodded slightly and turned to leave.

"No way in fucking hell am I paying!" Hidan glared.

"Then I'll see you in court." The treasurer turned and glared back. He made a bit of calculation inside his mind. He was obviously lying about bringing the silver-haired man to court because being Kakuzu, he would not want to waste unnecessary money on the lawyer fees. He said that merely to scare the Jashinist so that he would pay him.

"See you in fucking court!"

_Okay, that did not work_. Kakuzu felt like exploding because none of his schemes seemed to work on that silver-haired idiot. Knowing that it was pointless to argue, the FanTocHe treasurer left, leaving the two friends alone.

"So, how's your fucking life lately?" questioned the Jashinist. He had an evil smile on his face, "Face any fucking difficulties? Broke your fucking leg?"

Deidara glared at him. Of course, the Jashinist wouldn't go easy on him, he must have prayed to Jashin every single day for the blond magician to be punished. Well, it was so typical of Hidan.

"As a matter of fact, I'm fine, un," replied the blond magician. He looked at his watch, "Geez, look at the time un. Gotta go home and change before I head off to the temple un."

"Wh-what?" Hidan sounded alarm, "Where the fuck were you last night?"

"I've been here all night, un," Deidara quickly lied. He didn't want to upset the Jashinist more by letting him know he was with someone else. Hidan seemed suspicious so Deidara quickly added, "I've been sleeping on the bench outside your ward, un!"

Hidan's suspicions immediately disappeared and he beamed, "Really?"

"Yes," Deidara felt bad for lying but what could he do? "I was worried sick about you, un." He definitely could not let him know about Sasori yet; he didn't want to hurt him again.

Hidan made a hand-gesture, "I think you should fucking go back now." He didn't look at the blond magician. "Don't want you to be fucking late to that heathen temple."

"Guess I'll see you tonight, un." Deidara then turned to leave.

"Hey!" Hidan quickly looked up, "Wanna fucking have dinner with me tomorrow night?" He gulped, "They fucking said that I could be discharged soon."

Deidara turned and smiled apologetically, "Hidan, I'm sorry, un…"

Hidan made a hand-gesture, "I fucking promise, no weird thoughts!" He added, "We are fucking friends, right?" He shifted his gaze.

Deidara chuckled and gave a nod, "I would be glad to have dinner with you, un."

TBC…

* * *

A/n: Reviews make me update faster. So, um, R&R please? Lalala~ *will only update when reviews reach a certain target* *Gets killed for being evil XD*


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuuden or any characters in it.

A/n: Thank you so much to **K****yra213** for BETA-ing the fic! Thanks! And also special thanks to **Oroby** for the awesome video tribute to this fanfic! You can find it on youtube titled Magic City - SasoDei (a Tribute To Kyuuka's Fanfic) [PREVIEW & dancing intro]

_Italics are thoughts or flashbacks._

**Chapter 9**

Akasuna Sasori was truly impressed by the way the Iwagakurians built their temples. They had transformed the cave into the main temple and the huge boulders surrounding the area were carved and shaped into small shrines. The craftsmanship of the people here were truly mesmerizing and the whole place spelled 'A-R-T'. Some parts of the place were still under construction, as Sasori could still see some of the craftsmen working with their tools.

The redhead had to admit that Sakura's idea of visiting this temple was the most brilliant idea the pink-haired lady had ever came up with. And she was so right that Sasori was going to love this place. He turned slightly to see Sakura beaming at him, questioning if he liked the place, while Kakashi—Sakura's bodyguard—was reading Icha-Icha Paradise as he stood next to the lady.

Sasori replied honestly that he loved the place which made the pink-haired lady smile even more. She began chatting away about how much she knew him and that he could find no one who knew him as much as she did. Sasori wasn't listening to her. The three of them then made their way into the main temple.

The atmosphere of the cave-temple was cooling and it was a nice change from the hot weather. Chants could be heard coming from the monks. The statue of some deity unknown to Sasori stood magnificently on the altar, as smoke from the burning incense reached the redheaded businessman's nose. They smelled really different from normal incenses.

"They were made from the National Flower of Iwa: the Tsukihana." Said a voice from behind.

Sasori, Sakura and Kakashi turned to find a man with a strange orange mask behind them. Judging from the distance, Sasori had assumed that it was the man who had spoken to him.

"Oh," Sasori replied, pondering whether he had spoken his question out loud.

"You must be tourists here!" Exclaimed the masked man in his bubbly tone. He flung his hands in mid-air, "We don't have many tourists in this season. Welcome!" Pointing towards the burning incenses, he continued, "Many tourists seem to be fascinated by the unique smell of the incenses."

"Well, they do smell lovely." Sakura nodded.

Sasori eyed the man suspiciously, wondering if he wanted to ask for donations or something, like most religion institutions did. The orange-masked man turned towards the redhead, "The name's Tobi, by the way." He waved, "Feel free to look around." Saying this, the bubbly man turned on his heels and disappeared into the many tunnels that were present in the cave.

"What a strange man." The pink-haired lady blinked and Sasori merely shrugged. Kakashi did not even look up as he continued reading his beloved porn book.

CRASH! The noise of something falling echoed throughout the place. Then a loud 'Ouch,' could be heard. The sound itself was loud enough to alert everyone in the area as they all turned towards the source of the noise. The noise seemed to be coming from one of the many tunnels that the orange-masked man had disappeared into.

"TOBI!!! How many times have I told you not to touch those paints?!!!" Suddenly, a loud voice boomed.

The redhead by the name of Sasori raised a brow at the voice. It was extremely familiar. 'Deidara' was the first name that popped into the redhead's mind. Then his logical self got the better of him, '_No, no, no. Why would he even be here_?'

Inner-Sasori stated, '_Well, who knows? This might be what they call 'fate'_'

Sasori's logical self quickly argued, '_I refuse to believe in such stupid things as fate and destiny. It is simply not possible for him to be everywhere I am at_.'

"Ah! Sorry, Deidara-sempai, Tobi is a good boy. Tobi didn't see sempai's paints there."

Sasori almost dropped his jaws as the blond magician appeared from one of the tunnels, fuming. He did not see the redhead who was looking right at him. The only thing that occupied Deidara's mind was the orange-masked man who had just spilled his paint all over the floor.

"Freaking Tobi, un!" He scolded over his shoulders. Tobi continued to apologize, although it did not seem to ease the magician's anger. Turning back, Deidara finally caught sight of the redhead. His eyes widened and a smile immediately replaced the frown he had on earlier, "Danna, un!" He waved.

Sakura who was standing next to Sasori turned at looked at the redhead, "Who is that?" she asked.

"Just a friend." The words left Sasori's mouth before he could think. It did not sound right, yet Sasori did not know what to say. He was somehow grateful that Deidara could not hear him from that distance.

Deidara approached the trio leaving Tobi behind. The orange-masked man kept apologizing but his sempai ignored him. The magician took a glance at the pink-haired lady standing next to the redhead, and then he turned his attention towards Sasori. '_No, Deidara, you should not kiss him right now, un._' Deidara's inner-self reminded. '_Just settle for a hug right now_.'

Before Sasori could react, the blond magician had already wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into a hug. "It's nice to see you, danna, un," said Deidara. Sasori felt slightly uncomfortable as he struggled slightly to free himself.

At last, Deidara let him go. With his usual Cheshire grin, he patted Sasori on the head. Sasori frowned as Sakura tilted her head sideways. "Um…" She turned her attention towards Deidara, "Hi." She smiled. "I'm Sasori's fiancée – Haruno Sakura." She introduced herself as she held out a hand.

"Ex-fiancée." Sasori quickly corrected her.

'_Fiancée?_' Deidara's mind went blank for a moment, yet his smile did not falter. He took Sakura's hand and shook it. "Hi, the name's Deidara, un." His stare fall upon Sasori, "Say, your fiancée's a real beauty, isn't she?"

"I just said, she's my ex!" Sasori almost screamed.

Deidara merely made a hand gesture, "Right, whatever, un."

Sasori somehow felt uneasy inside, even when the blond was all smiley like usual. The redhead could sense something was not right. '_Great, Sasori, now what are you, a psychic!?_' Inner-Sasori snorted.

Then, Sasori's logic-self took control, '_Meh, why do you even care?' _ The redhead took a glance at the magician. The fact remained was that he did care about Deidara's feelings. '_Is he jealous of Haruno-san?_'

Before Sasori's mind could continue to analyze the situation, Deidara had already spoken, "So, care to join me for lunch?" He turned towards the pink-haired lady and smiled. "There's a cafeteria just around here, un."

Sakura blushed slightly at the sight of Deidara's mesmerizing smile, she immediately turned towards Sasori, "Sasori-kun, we should have lunch with him. I'm getting slightly hungry anyway." She tugged on the redhead's suit. "Ne?"

The redheaded businessman stared straight at Deidara. After moments of silence, the redhead shrugged and said, "Whatever…"

* * *

After 5 long hours, the plane departing from Yukigakure had finally landed in the land of Iwa. Two Uchiha brothers got off the plane and proceeded in taking their luggage. The younger Uchiha seemed to be in a bad mood. The elder brother could only sigh and shake his head when the younger one shot him glares every time he asked him a question.

'_Well, Sasuke's always in a bad mood when he wakes up,_' thought Itachi. "Sasuke, are you sure you're not gonna eat?" questioned the elder Uchiha, as the two of them walked towards the exit.

Sasuke laid down his luggage bag the moment they reached the front porch, and shot Itachi a glare. "For the umpteenth time, I said NO!" He stifled a yawn, "Let's just get to the hotel…" Sasuke's eyelids were heavy as he strived hard to remain standing. "When is Yakushi-san going to be here?"

Itachi looked at his watch. "Hmm…he's late." Just then, his cell phone rang. 'Chiyo Obasama' flashed across the screen. Itachi narrowed his eyes. '_This can't be good_.' He thought as he answered the call. "Yes?"

"Oh, Itachi." The old woman's voice was hoarse. "Sorry to tell you that Sasori's busy at the moment and he needs the chauffeur." The sound coming from the TV could be heard from the end of the phone; clearly the old lady must be watching some soap operas because she seemed distracted as she talk, as if she wanted to end the conversation quickly.

"I understand." Itachi made a response. "We will take a cab to the hotel then. Thank you for informing us." There was a 'click' at the end of the line when Chiyo hung up. Itachi hung up as well, before turning his attention towards his younger brother. "Wait here, I'll go get us a cab." Saying this, the elder Uchiha disappeared into the crowds.

Sasuke plopped a chewing gum into his mouth, trying to keep himself as awake as he could. He could always get coffee but he disliked the taste of it. Gradually, he let his eyes stray. They landed on a poster stuck to one of the many poles of the building. After further inspection, he realized all the poles were glued with the same poster.

The younger Uchiha raised a brow as he immediately recognized the person in the poster. '_Huh? Naruto?_' A smirk appeared on the raven's face as he crossed his hands.

"KYUUBI LIVE IN IWA ON THE 23rd!" Read the poster. Three men were seen striking poses for it. Sasuke recognized the blond man who stood in the middle of the poster but he did not know who the other two were.

'_It seems you've become a rock-star now, huh, Usuratonkachi?_' Sasuke thought to himself as he recalled his childhood friend – and also ex-boyfriend. The blond must have hated Sasuke now for disappearing like that. Well, who wouldn't? Sasuke had merely left a note saying 'Let's break up' and then left Konoha without a word.

'_Sasuke, you really are a jerk,_' thought inner-Sasuke. The raven, of course—being the stuck-up prick he was—would never admit it to anyone.

"Sasuke!" The younger raven turned to find Itachi waving for him to come. He had gotten a taxi. Dragging his luggage along, the raven approached his elder brother and after helping to get the bags into the trunk, the taxi sped off along with its passengers.

* * *

The cafeteria wasn't really crowded because it was not yet the holiday season. Sasori sat on one of the rock-made stools as he stared across the room at Deidara and Sakura who stood in line with their trays. They seemed to be chatting happily and for some reason, Sasori felt his stomach churn at the sight.

Kakashi, of course, could not care less as his mind was focused on one thing: Icha Icha Paradise Volume 13. The strange orange masked man, Tobi, had also tagged along and was seated across the table from Sasori. Tobi was dozing off and loud snores could be heard in the silent surrounding.

The redheaded businessman pondered whether he should walk over to the merrily chatting people and offer to help out with carrying the food or something; anything that would stop Deidara and Sakura from being overly friendly towards each other. Inner-Sasori seemed to laugh, '_Oooh, someone's getting J-E-A-L-O-U-S here._' Annoyed by that thought, Sasori quickly brushed it off with a '_No, I'm not!_'

Sasori immediately snapped out of his thoughts when a loud shriek could be heard, following the noise of trays and plates falling to the ground. His attention immediately turned towards the source of noise. The sight in front of him made Sasori's heart clench.

It seemed that Sakura had almost slipped but had been thankfully saved by Deidara, who was quick enough to catch hold of the lady by her arm. The food, though was unfortunately unsalvageable as it lay alongside the broken plates and bowls. Tobi had already rushed towards Deidara's side, taking the tray Deidara was having a hard time balancing, due to having to hold the pink haired woman up at the same time.

Sasori got to his feet as he hurried towards the incident's scene. Kakashi was already there to help the lady, who had apparently strained her ankle when she slipped. So in the end, the redhead was not able to help out with anything.

"Hey, you alright?" Tobi questioned the lady. Sakura wore a pained expression as she clenched her fists. "It hurts!" Kakashi had already taken off the lady's shoe and examined the strained ankle.

"I think we should send you to the hospital," said the personal bodyguard to the pink-haired lady. Without taking a look at Sasori, he then said, "Akasuna-san, could you please contact Kabuto?" His then pressed on the injured ankle which made Sakura screamed in pain. "Please bear with it." He told the lady.

While Sasori was giving his chauffeur a call, Deidara had already gotten an icepack from the kitchen. The blond magician handed the icepack to Kakashi. The older man then used it to treat Sakura's sprain.

"Kabuto said he's going to be here in a minute," declared the redheaded businessman.

"Eh?" The icepack made Sakura's pained expression subsided. "I don't think that's necessary, Sasori-kun." She forced a smile, "I feel better already."

"No, we need to get your sprain checked by the doctors," Kakashi insisted.

Just then, Tobi spoke, "Tobi knows! We can get Haruno-san to Nagato-sensei! He could help Haruno-san!" The orange-masked man made a gesture, "Tobi could take you guys to him! Nagato-sensei lives in the shrine!" Tobi spoke in his usual bubbly manner.

Kakashi seemed hesitant. The pink-haired lady gave a sigh, then turned towards Sasori, "Sasori-kun, I think we should go with Tobi-san here. It's really troublesome to go to the doctor anyway."

"Yes, yes! The hospital is very far away!" Tobi nodded in agreement, "Rest assured. Nagato-sensei specializes in treating sprains and the likes!"

Sasori took a glance at Deidara, who seemed unbelievably quiet. It just did not seem like the blond to be so quiet. "Deidara?" The redhead questioned, but the magician didn't seem to even spare him a glance.

"Ah, let's go. We don't want Haruno-san's wound to worsen, do we, un?" Deidara strolled towards the cafeteria's exit. The others trailed behind. Sasori stood on the spot, shocked by Deidara's cold attitude towards him.

'_What the…?!_' The redhead felt his stomach churn and his rage begin to boil. '_How dare he?!_' The words kept repeating themselves as Sasori struggled hard to calm down. The moment his rage begin to subside, fear took over…The fear of being ignored by Deidara made Sasori's mind a mess. The redhead bit on his lips hard, a mixture of emotions overwhelming him.

'_Gosh…what is this feeling?_' He had never experienced this before. He had never felt fear for trivial things like this. The redhead stared ahead as Deidara, Sakura, Tobi and Kakashi began to disappear through the exit, before pacing up to follow the four.

* * *

TBC…

A/n: …un? Gomen for the late update and please R&R, thank you.


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuuden or any characters in it.

A/n: Thank you so much to **Kyra213** for BETA-ing this chapter. Wish you all the best in school! Gambate-ne! You can do it!

Sorry for the VERY VERY late update. Kinda got hit by writer's block.

**Chapter 10**

It was a very unpleasant surprise for Nagato-sensei – thanks to a certain annoying orange-masked man by the name of Tobi. As you see, Nagato sensei was supposed to be spending a _lovey-dovey_ afternoon with his lover in their shared _room_ doing some _lovey-dovey_ activity when…

SLAM! The sliding doors to Nagato's sensei's room opened and five pairs of eyes were on him and his male lover. Nagato felt his blood boiling at the sight but he still retained his composure. It was very unpleasant afternoon indeed.

In came the bubbly orange-masked man with his annoying voice as he greeted the couple, "Good afternoon! Nagato-sensei!" He turned towards Nagato-sensei's lover, "Oh, and good afternoon to you too, Yahiko-san!"

Sasori's eyes were wide with shock and his face immediately turned as red as his hair. His gaze quickly shifted away. Sakura on the other hand was gaping at the couple who were in their _lovey-dovey_ situation. She tried hard not to have a nosebleed but to no avail. Droplets of blood oozed out of her nose and she had to cover her nose with her hand – she was a closet Fujoshi. Kakashi also stared in shock. The only ones who were calm in the situation were Deidara and Tobi.

Deidara rolled his eyes and glared daggers at Tobi, "Tobi…you are so dead un." He muttered.

Tobi didn't seem to comprehend the situation as he tilted his head slightly. "Eh, Nagato-sensei! Tobi needs help!"

The lovey-dovey couple glared at the orange-masked man. Nagato pushed away his lover and quickly tied up his yukata. His lover, on the other hand, without shame, stood up stark naked. Sakura had another gush of massive nosebleed. Nagato-sensei's lover then proceeded in wearing his pants.

The atmosphere was awkward. No one except Tobi was talking. "So, Tobi was saying that Haruno-san had hurt her ankle and needs treatment."

"Perfect…Just perfect… another afternoon ruined." Nagato-sensei's lover muttered. "Hmm?" His eyes suddenly trailed off and stopped at one of the five people who intruded on him and his lover's 'lovey-dovey' time. "Akasuna-san?"

Sasori turned. The blush on his face finally disappeared and was replaced with a surprised look. "Pein?" Okay, he did not expect this. No way! Wasn't Pein with Konan? Sasori could swear that he saw the two of them talking privately in the office. Weren't they a couple?

"It's Yahiko by the way." He made a hand gesture. "Pein's just a name I used in business," replied the orange-haired man, "So, what brings you here, Akasuna-san?"

"Visiting the temple," replied the redhead monotonously. The shock from before had somehow managed to subside. He shrugged, "Well, my friend here is injured and we are sending her here for treatment."

"Oh, I see." Nodded Yahiko as he turned towards Nagato who was seated on the tatami mat. His redheaded lover stared at him and gave a sigh.

"Yahiko, haven't I told you not to visit me in the afternoons?" Nagato then stood up and approached Sakura who was still being carried by Kakashi. He bent down slightly to examine the lady's injury.

Yahiko merely smirked and commented, "Well, a certain someone will feel lonely if I don't keep him company."

Nagato sighed inwardly as he ignored his lover. Instead, he concentrated on examining the pink-haired-lady's ankle. "Hmm…I think you should put her down." He told Kakashi. The pink haired lady was soon placed on the futon as the doctor proceeded in treating her wound.

Sasori wasn't paying attention to all that. Instead, his eyes were locked onto the blond-haired magician. The magician had stood with his arms crossed and his back on the wall. His face was void of expression. Sasori had never seen him like this before and somehow it made the redhead felt unpleasant, yet the businessman could not put what he was feeling into words.

Sasori approached the magician and was greeted with cold blue eyes staring at him. "We need to talk." He told the blond.

The Cheshire grin reappeared on the blond's face, yet somehow it made the redhead feel even uneasier. 'Sarcastic' was the word that appeared in the redhead's mind. "Okay danna." He made a hand gesture, "Let's talk un."

"Alone," said the redhead as he eyed the others who were seemingly too busy with Sakura's sore ankle to notice them both. A hand reached out and grabbed Sasori's wrist. The redhead was caught by surprise as he stared the owner of the hand straight in the eye.

"Then, shall we go to somewhere we could be alone un?" Deidara whispered in his ear seductively. The redhead could feel his own heart beating heavily. Then, as if he were spellbound, he let the blond drag him off. No one in the room noticed their disappearance.

* * *

Yakushi Kabuto popped open a can of Coca-Cola and a smile crept across his face. _Oh! This is blissful_! The man thought as he quickly helped himself to the cooling drink. He let out a loud burp when he was done. Oh well, manners be damned! There wasn't anyone here anyway. The park was practically empty.

The silver haired man was now sitting on a bench in a park near the temple in which he had sent his boss and his boss's supposedly ex-fiancée to. It was a tiring day for the man having to drive for hours. Well, it was his _job_.

Anyway, the silver-haired man was just relaxing away, blanking out all thoughts. Unfortunately for him, his sweet time alone was soon interrupted by the sound of his ringtone. He growled, annoyed by the interruption but his hand soon made its way to pull out the phone from his pocket.

An unknown number. The man noted as he answered the call after it rang a few more times. "Hello?" He waited for a reply.

"Hello, Yakushi-san." The voice almost knocked Kabuto out of his calm composure – well, almost anyway. The silver-haired-man wasn't someone who would lose his poise so easily, but somehow that voice almost managed make him do so.

"Oh, it's you." Kabuto's voice came out nonchalant – a façade he was so comfortable in putting up even in dire situations. "How did you get my number?"

A chuckle was heard from the other line. Then the owner of the voice spoke, "Of course, I've done my homework after all, Yakushi-san." The husky tone yet again managed to make Kabuto's heart skip a beat. It was thrilling, to say the least.

"So, what do you want this time?" A smirk managed to present itself on Kabuto's face as he laid his head back, "Orochimaru?" His voice came out quite mocking yet it was playful in its own way.

There was a pause, and then Orochimaru spoke again. "My, my. That's the only thing you could say to me, no? What do I want from you, hmm?" He continued, "Oh, Yakushi-san, were you…" he paused, "driving without your license on you?"

It quickly alarmed the silver-haired man as he touched his pocket. Damn, that man had his wallet! It wasn't the license that he was concerned about, it was all the information one could get from his wallet. He really wanted to shoot himself now.

'_Talk about a first-class spy who couldn't even keep his wallet safe._' Inner-Kabuto scolded. The man pondered for a while, thinking of what to say to the dark-haired man, but before he could utter any words, the man had already spoken.

"How careless are you, dear Kabuto?" The man used his first name, not that Kabuto minded at all, but he was slightly annoyed having to be reminded of his own blunder. Orochimaru's tone suddenly turned serious. "The Street's Café. 8pm sharp."

It sounded like an order and Kabuto was taken aback. "_How dare he?_" but Yakushi Kabuto could not retort at the moment and could only managed a, "Don't be late." The younger man could hear a chuckle coming from the other line before he hung up.

Kabuto heaved a sigh; he had to think of a reason to tell his boss about why he would be unavailable tonight. Still, it would be another exciting encounter with the snake-like man; Kabuto did not repel the idea. Orochimaru intrigued him, as much as he himself was intriguing to that snake-like man.

* * *

The door slid shut behind him and Sasori realized that he was alone in an empty room with Deidara. The room was a Japanese-styled room with the tatami mats and a rectangular table in the middle. A painting of the sakura hung on the wooden walls and the empty cupboard was slightly ajar.

The redhead could only stare at the blonde who merely look back at him with such a seductive gaze. His mind quickly processed the information in front of him. Inner-Sasori hijacked his mind '_You're in a room with Deidara __**alone**__._' His inner-self beamed evilly. '_Ooo, this could only mean one thing, Sasori._' He gulped, '_No, no, no. He said he wanted to talk._' The redhead reasoned with his inner-self.

He noticed Deidara nearing him and almost flinched when their faces were so close to each other. The redhead felt his face burning up as his heart raced. '_Okay, now calm down. It's not like he's going to eat you…'_ Suddenly, he felt as if he were little-red-riding-hood in the fairytale his parents used to read him when he was a child. '_This must be how she felt when she met the big bad wolf._' He thought. He mentally slapped himself, '_What the hell are you thinking?_' His eyes widened as the blond inched towards him. But then, to the redhead's disappointment, the magician smirked and passed him by. The blonde then sat down on the floor.

"What's wrong, danna un?" Deidara questioned in an innocent tone, but his eyes told a different story. They were playful eyes. "Aren't we gonna talk?"

Sasori turned and sat down in front of the blonde. '_How dare he toy with me? That brat!_' He narrowed his eyes and swore to himself that he did not expect anything to happen moments ago. '_Yea right…_' Inner-Sasori snorted.

There was an awkward silence as the couple stared at each other. Deidara raised a brow, "So?"

"I…" Sasori wanted to say something but paused halfway. He turned away and cleared his throat. "She was my ex." There, he said it and was scolded by his inner-self, '_Nice going, Sasori. What's with the vague line?_'

"Oh." Came the reply. "I know un."

"You knew?" Surprised, the redhead turned towards the blond magician. "Then what's with the…"

"Cold act un?" Deidara completed the redhead's sentence as if it was the most natural thing to do. He flung his hand in mid-air. "It was nothing."

'_Nothing? What do you mean by nothing? You brat!_' Sasori did not say it out loud and instead stared blankly at the blonde. Then he noticed something, gleaming in those blue eyes. It was _uncertainty._ Sasori's instincts told him that he must do something, _anything_ to remove that uncertainty in the magician's eyes.

Then, before Sasori's mind could come out with a logical solution for the situation, his body had already moved by itself and he launched forward and pressed his lips against the blonde's. Blue eyes stared at him in shock and the redhead wanted to pull back out of embarrassment but the blonde's hands shot out to wrap themselves around Sasori's waist and pulled him into a deeper kiss.

Both of them had their eyes closed as both their tongues clashed against each other's, fighting for dominance. Alas, all logical thought left Sasori and a sense of satisfaction washed over him when he realized that the role of little-red-riding-hood and the big-bad-wolf had switched.

TBC…

A/N: I…don't…know…how…to…write…smut. So, um, story's going to maintain PG-13, until maybe next chapter? If I could somehow think of a way to um…raise the rating? (I most probably won't though…)


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